Threads of Fate (ZnT)
by Vigilantia
Summary: For Emiya Shirou, his war was over. For Louise, her war was about to begin. Unwillingly pulled into the 5th Holy Grail War, Louise will have to use all her wit and magic just to stay alive; but all is not as it seems. This isn't the war she remembers. (Discontinued indefinite. Read my profile for more information.)
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: **

**Hey Everyone, this will be one of my first recent works in a massive while.**

**There are some obvious things to note before starting out:**

**a) There WILL be spoilers for F/SN here. This should be obvious. I consider myself having a decent amount of Nasuverse knowledge (anime, VN, F/HA(English)) and will try to keep to Canon as accurately as possible. Which brings me to point...**

**b) I am open to any constructive criticism and suggestions to be had regarding structure, plot, etc. If there is a genuine error I'll be happy to fix it. For those of you who are heavy Nasuverse fans, I would like to think I'm well informed about Nasu lore but corrections are welcome as well. **

**c) OC will appear as rarely as possible if you're the type that dislikes those.**

**d) This story will be borrowing a certain pink haired character from the excellent ZnT/FSN crossover story "Hill of Swords" by Gabriel Blessing. If you havent read it yet, I suggest you do so as its very well written and witty. For those of you that haven't, the plot essentially focuses around a battle hardened Shirou being summoned by Louise as her familiar. I'll try to keep the ZnT references well explained and as brief as possible. **

*****OBVIOUS SPOILERS FOR "THE HILL OF SWORDS" YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*****

**Without further ado, here we go!**

[ BGM: Fate/Stay Night - Gentle Everyday ]  
><span>.comwatch?v=2KysWTK5PrM

**Prologue:**

He had always hated these days. There was more than enough time to breath and rest but not enough to completely plan for the chaotic times ahead. Sitting at the roadside cafe, he waited for his associate to arrive. Already having read through the same articles over a dozen of times, he was about to get up and leave when he noticed that an iced glass of milk tea had materialized between him and his paper. Trying to find the source of the delicious drink he looked both left and right. A friendly face finally popped up above his newspaper smiling cheerfully. She lowered the newspaper with her head until she was eye level with him. Behind her, he could see she was holding something behind her back.

"Three hours," he said with annoyance. He let his words hang in the air for effect.

She quickly zipped in next to him before holding the drink up to his face. "Its your favorite." she said, the infectious cheerful smile of hers still plastered on her face. Sighing slightly he surrendered and began to enjoy the drink, his eyebrows perking up approvingly at the taste.

"Sorry for being late," she said as she rested her head on her hands, her blond bangs drooping on the table. " I was delayed on the way here." He gave a brief shrug of indifference before downing half the cups contents.

Putting the drink down in satisfaction he turned back his friend. "I believe you said there was something urgent you needed to talk to me about?"

She pulled out the thick folder from behind her back and placed it on the table. "Its about the upcoming Holy Grail War."

"Don't you mean Heavens Feel?" he said.

She flicked him on the forehead for the interruption before continuing on, "Something new has come up. You're not going to like it."

He read the contents of the folder for several minutes. "I'm not really not seeing that much difference here. It looks all the same to... oh," he stopped talking before finally tossing the folder down in fatigue. Slumping his shoulders, he said, "I don't suppose we could just call the Mages Association and have them cancel it? Maybe reschedule it for never?"

"Nope!" she said cheerfully. "Don't worry though, I'll be sure to supply you with enough tea for the whole thing."

He sighed, resigned to his fate. "Well, I suppose it could be worse. The last time this happened the entire city exploded."

========

[ BGM: Fate/Stay Night - Whirlpool of Fate 2 ]  
><span>.comwatch?v=Mh4jsjjgPG0

The rain softly pattered on the ground as she walked. It was during a time like this that Caster wished she had bothered to fashion a cane from something in her masters house. Former master, she corrected herself.

She had done well. Her Master was a legitimate magus. A strong magus sent from the Mages Association to win the Holy Grail. He was a thirty year-old mage with no real distinguishing features. Though he dreamed of victory and claiming the Holy Grail, he had no plans of fighting. He was perfectly happy to let all the other servants "die in their own blood" while he sat and watched from the shadows. It was an excellent plan. But it would not win her the war. And it would not fulfill her wish. And that... that she could not allow. Not after everything she had been through.

She had waited, patiently, while inflating the man's already overflowing pride.

When he had wasted his final command on a frivolous order, she'd struck. He'd been blown across the room and into the hall. Approaching his still form, the room bathed in the light of her crimson orbs of magic, she could have ended his life right there. For what he had put her through the vengeance would have been delicious. The orb of destruction had been less than in an inch from the fools head. But her cooler self had persevered. In the end she'd erased his memories and healed his burn wounds. Although she did savor the kick to his ribs before she walked into the night.

But that was as far as her plans had went.

She sneezed violently and was brought to her knees; her long dark hair dripping ungraciously into a puddle. She always had the worst luck with her plans. Her damned former master had finally had the last laugh in the end. He couldn't bear the thought of her being a better magus than him. By feeding her a limited supply of magical energy he'd sapped her time in this world from two days to only several hours.

She shivered; not from the rain, wind or the cold but the lack of prana. Her body felt weak to the bones but she kept walking. She had to keep walking or else... was that the ground rising to meet her?

Warm hands caught her before she fell and she unconsciously hugged the warm heat-source. It felt good to be held like that. Safe. As her mind finally fell into darkness her thoughts went to how she missed moments like this in her last life.

=============

As Caster opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was the softness of the futon on her back. Looking around she noted she was in a rather plain Japanese-style room and someone had changed her into a dry Yukata. "How long had I been unconscious?" she wondered. She could feel strength returning to her body. The fact she was awake and wasn't slowly fading away meant two things. Firstly, someone had carried her here from the broken trail. More importantly, two, the slight tinge of aqua in the air and her recovered strength meant she was sitting upon a potent layline. If it had been anywhere else, she had no doubt she would never have opened her eyes again.

"You are awake," stated a steady voice from the side, "Your original clothes are cleaned and ready. If you need to leave, then leave. If you need time to recover, then you can stay at this temple." Kuzuki Souichirou closed the book he was reading and put away his glasses. Even though she was grateful he had saved her, his constantly neutral and monotone voice disturbed her more than just a little.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Over a day," said Kazuki, reaffirming Casters hypothesis. She was glad she hadn't gotten any blood on her cloak. Right now it looked simply as if she had simply collapsed from a fever. She hoped to keep it that way.

"You do not have to make your decision immediately. Dinner is in two hours in the main hall if you wish to attend," said Kazuki as he got up to leave. She stopped him.

"I suppose I should thank you for saving me?" Caster asked from the futon.

"No," said Kazuki, "it was a young student of mine that found you on his way here. His name is Emiya Shirou. "

"Waaaa!" she nearly yelled, "he... he didn't... um... eh... did he?" Though she wasn't making much sense, the fact she rapidly held the blankets above her already completely clothed body made her question abundantly clear.

"No, I did. They did not see anything if that is what you fear," stated Kazuki plainly.

"I see... Thank you," she replied, her cheeks radiating a shade of scarlet. "If it is okay with you, I would like to stay here for a little while."

He responded by a curt nod and then quietly closed the door.

= = = =

[BGM: Fate/Hollow Ataraxia - Stranger] .com/watch?v=_zJBSNM77rQ

**Day 3: February 2nd **  
><strong>Fateful Night<strong>

The city of Fuyuki had become quiet long before the Sun had set on the horizon. These days the recent string of violent murders had forced most people back to their homes early. Evening business' closed earlier than normal as their customers declined and their employees were wary to stay out so late. There was a great fear that hung over the Miyama residential district. Which is why it was amazing no one heard the high pitched scream of the small petite girl as she was thrown through the air. Behind her, the green portal that had brought her there sealed itself shut.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Bouncing several times before slowing to a crawl, she mumbled something about the Root before pulling herself up.

"I have to say, that was worse than the teleport we tried in Bretland. And we were in the air that time" clanged a voice from her back.

"Shut up, stupid sword" said Loise as she forcefully closed its quillon. "Besides, that was no ordinary teleport, it was a World Gate spell. Travelling between worlds is harder than travelling between cities."

"Still seems to have failed, though" chirped the sword.

She clamped down hard on Derflinger again before she gave out a large sigh and surveyed her surroundings. They had landed in an empty field outside the city. In the distance she could make out the tall skyline of the urban core as cars travelled to and from their destination.

Which meant she had failed. She slumped to her knees in defeat at that realization. Now she was trapped here again.

She had originally been sent here by the Tristain Acadamy of Magic as a joint magical project between the four nations of Halkeginia. With the crusade between Halkeginia and the Elven nations ended, hundreds of thousand of people were dead of both sides but peace had finally returned; at least on the surface. Underneath all the fanfare and celebration, all four Halkeginian nations were actively seeking new weapons of destruction. At the victory celebration the Pope of Romalia, Vittorio, had reveal the existence of this "Other World" to the Nobility of the other Halkeginian nations. It was rather unsurprising to her when the banquet hall had exploded in outrage. At least, those that hadn't known about Earth before. Once the cries had died down, Vittorio had outlined his plan for an international association that would explore and search this new world. He called it a Mages Association that would travel to this other world to obtain magical artifacts that could be used to fight against the possibility of a renewed elven attack.

The Root sure had a funny sense of humor.

The other great surprise happened when she, the Duchess of Emptiness, the Confidant of Tristainia, had announced she would be joining in the exploration of Earth. The nobility had exploded once again in outrage. To risk their greatest weapon in a perilous expedition into the unknown was ludicrous. The only table that had remained silent was Tristain. There sat the greatest allies and best friends she had known during these tumultuous quiet, they knew her reasons. Battle upon battle and war upon war, she had been there. Whether against armies, creatures of myth and magic, or even against the legendary magic of the elves she had been there; her and Shirou. But that had all finally ended at the cost of his life. All the stupid politics, endless battles and pointless wars had finally caught up with them. At the end of the last battle, he had left her.

"I'll come back" he had said before running back into the fray.

And why would she doubt that? He had defied fate and returned from the 70,000 at Saxe Gotha. He'd slain Myoznitnirn and her behemoth golem. Stopped the elven army at Al Nafar. He had always come back to her... Except that one time.

That had been over a month ago.

She shook her head to keep from trailing back to those thoughts. She wasn't the insecure girl she used to be when she'd first summoned him on that fateful day. "I can handle this" she told herself.

Right now, she was stuck trying to return to Halkeginia. Her last two attempts at casting World Gate had failed, sending her flying straight back, literally, into Shirou's world. Worse still, the spell left her low on prana. She straightened her ruffled clothes and pondered her situation.

The last rays of sunlight were about to disappear over the horizon. Night was coming, she was low on money, and she still had no idea where she was or how to get back to Halkeginia. She gave a loud sigh before she picked up her travel pack and started walking down the nearby road.

"Eh, Louise, do you have any idea where you're heading off to?" inquired the sword.

"No idea, but I can see several large and tall buildings over there," she said as she pointed over yonder, even though Derflinger had no eyes. "I figure we might be able to find out where we are or at least where the closest inn is from there. Why? Do you have any better ideas?"

"Well, you could always sleep in that tent that broumurrp!" Louise violently clamped down on Derflinger.

"I said BETTER ideas."

=======

It only a few minutes before she encountered a couple walking towards her. Well, less walking and more like stumbling in her general direction. There was a blonde woman, clearly more than a little tipsy, being supported by her rather tall friend.

"This was perfect," thought Louise, "I can find out where I am and maybe a place to sleep for the night." Her arms glowed slightly as Louise quickly finished casting an illusion spell upon herself.

"Mcnaba-kun, I'm perfectly fine," said the female stranger as she teetered on the edges of her toes.

"Tell that to me after you've woken up tomorrow," he responded, trying in vain to keep the both of them walking in a straight line. He stopped when he saw the small blonde girl standing patiently in front of them.

"Oh, hello there, Miss. What are you doing out here so late? You should be careful, there's been violent murders around here recently. You should probably head home."

"Thank you for your concern," she said while bowing slightly. She may have looked vulnerable, but the years spent fighting in wars would make her more than a match for any street thug that might approach her. She continued talking, "I just arrived in this area after a long journey. I don't suppose you would know where a nearby inn is so I could sleep?"

"An inn?" pondered the raven haired stranger, trying to keep his companion from tilting over.

"What about the place next to the Ahnenerbe Cafe we passed?" mentioned the blonde stranger as she perked her head up towards Louise. From the glow surrounding her face, she was definitely more than just tipsy.

"Hmm, that is right. Its probably the closest You should be able to get there by following this road back to Homurabara High School. Keep following it and you'll eventually find the main road. Keep following that and you should see it before you cross Fuyuki Bridge." he said.

"Whaaaa..." Louise exclaimed, her eyes popping open, "this is Fuyuki City?"

"Of course. This is the Miyama residential area and over there," he said while pointing to the darkened skyline, "is Shinto, Fuyuki's urban area. Is there anything else you need, miss?"

"Uh, no, thank you. You've been more than helpful to me," she said. With that the couple began to turn away.

"Stay safe, Miss" said the drunk blond as she waved energetically past her tall friend.

She stood there, staring at the two as they both hobbled their way away. Fuyuki... This was Shirou's hometown. As she walked down the road she tried to remember what she could about the city. It was in this city that Shirou had fought in the Holy Grail War; where he had found Saber and eventually fallen in l...

She shook her head once again. Those thoughts were all of the past; they wouldn't help her current situation. She rummaged through her memory once more looking for something of use. A girl wearing a red long sleeve shirt with a white cross in the middle came into her mind. What was her name? Rain...? Rhyn? No... Rin. She was the supervisor of the Fuyuki area. She'd have to make sure she avoided any public displays of magic. While she might not attack her, Rin would certainly start asking questions on why a new magus had travelled here into her territory. Those were headaches she'd rather avoid.

And speaking of headaches, what was that annoying clanging noise?

[BGM: Fate/Stay Night - Footsteps of Ruin] .com/watch?v=YoCmZgK02nw

As she approached the school she could hear the sound of metal hitting metal. It sounded similar to the clash of blades between armies, but that made no sense. It couldn't be school activities, not at this hour, and from what she had learned Earth had long ago replaced their swords and blades with guns like the ones used by Tristain's Musketeers.

"Kinda weird to hear this noise here, dont you think, Louise?" said Derflinger as he sounded out her own thoughts.

She crept along the wall surrounding Homurabara Gakuen before reaching the main entrance. Something in the back of her mind told her she should just leave. Go down the road to the inn and forget all about this. But she was drawn in. She didn't know why but she had to find out what it was. As she walked through the entrance she could feel something within the air.

"Ack," said the sword on her back, "did you feel that?" She nodded. It wasn't something normal humans could notice but as a magic user she could feel it. The best way to describe it was like the pinprick feeling you would get when your arm had fallen asleep. Something felt within your skin. Something that shouldn't normally exist here; especially not at a public school.

She hugged the side of one of the classroom buildings while moving towards the sound of battle.

"Derf?" she said barely above a whisper. His only response was a slight shrug of his quillon. He had no idea what was ahead either. As she carefully looked around the corner, she saw them.

Out in the courtyard there were two knights fighting. One wielded a crimson spear and was clad in deep ultramarine blue; its color blending into the night. The other wore bright red armor and wielded two swords.

Even as she reinforced her eyes, she could only grasp the barest glimpses of the two warriors. Sparks seems to appear from thin air as the two weapons would collide and disappear before her eyes could even register the hit. In the span of less than a second the lancer had thrust eight times and the swordsman had deflected all eight attacks. She watched from the shadows at this amazing display of skill; fascinated yet scared like having front row seats to a forest fire. Truly these knights were beyond the skill of humans.

The lancer pushes back and lands back several meters, finally ending his barrage of attacks. As they both stopped, she finally recognized the lancer in blue. Its someone she's never seen, yet knew. A memory not of her own. Cu Chulainn. Ireland's Man of Light. She drew her eyes to the man in red and drew in a deep breath at the realization.

"Whos there...!"

Her heart froze. It was impossible. She was completely across the field hiding behind this building and yet he was staring at her as clear as day.

"Louise, Run!" yelled Derflinger. And so she did.

Blowing straight through the school doors, she headed up the stairs.

"Louise, where are you going? Use a teleport and get us out of here," said Derflinger from the sheathe once more.

"Cant... no... mana...and no... time" said Louise as she took the stairs three at a time. Even with her legs reinforced, her heart still beat as fast as a drum from the exertion. Fear of death did terrible things for the heart. Reaching the third floor, she kept on running down the hallway. She had concluded that if she could reach the stairwell up to the roof, she might have time to cast her fly spell. There was no other option. Even with her reinforced legs, Lancer would outrun her 4 times over. She couldn't hide nor could she fight.

[ BGM: Pandora Hearts - Preparation ] .com/watch?v=1w3EUJngleQ

She was travelling so fast she couldn't stop in time to avoid colliding with the red haired student as she passed a corner.

"Ahhhh!"  
>"Oohh"<p>

Bereft of their previous balance, they collided into the window before colliding onto the floor.

"Ack, ack, ack, you idi.. ot..." Louise stopped talking when she saw his face.

She was looking at Shirou again. Not her Shirou, though. He was different. His hardened featured were softer. Everything seemed lighter and gentler. All of the inner gooey and happy parts of Shirou without the cynical battle-hardened outer layer. His life before that long and hard journey. He was also considerably shorter than she last remembered. And cuter too.

She mentally smacked herself. They were seconds away from death and she was thinking about THAT?

She understood the situation. She had somehow travelled back in time and entered the Holy Grail War. If she remembered correctly, on this fateful Shirou would die tonight, and Rin would heal his wound. At the other end of the long hallway, Lancer stood watching with a slight grin on his face; maybe having been waiting all that while.

Her mind screamed at her to run. If she ran now everything would be set right. The Grail would be destroyed and Shirou would end up on that field. Saber would say goodbye to Shirou and all would be restored as it was.

Her body told her to flee. Her heart hammered in her chest as fast as the clash of steel from before. Her arms tingled from the adrenaline in her blood. She could feel the mana in the air tickle her skin as the Servant leisurely walk his way down the long hall. She had fought in utterly desperate situations before but every time she had been with her Servant; with Shirou. Even then, that had been against mortals, not other Servants. If she fought against this being, she would die. She would definitely die. And yet, she stood her ground.

Even if there was a hundredth of a chance that Shirou might remain dead tonight, there was still a chance of it happening. Maybe Rin might arrive seconds too late. Maybe Lancer would make sure his prey was dead this time and end Shirou's life before it truly began. But more important than anything else, her heart told her it was wrong. It was wrong to leave someone innocent behind for slaughter.

"Whaaa?" moaned Shirou as he began to recover from the collision.

"Run you idiot. Run!" she said as she nearly threw him towards the exit, never taking her eyes from Lancer.

Standing up, Louise drew her wand and steeled herself.

"Tut, what a shame" said Lancer as he kicked off towards her direction.

It was after the Invasion of Gallia that Shirou had begun encouraging her to look into trying to manipulating the other elements. Shirou had been alone for most of his battles and as such had been forced to adapt to a wide variety of skills and abilities. An explosion may devastate armies and level airships but it wouldn't be able to put out a fire, hold up a collapsing cave or heal wounds. "Besides, I wont always be here to protect your pretty pink head." he'd said with a slight smirk.

She hoped all her training and practice would be enough. With the wave of her wand, she casted a spell.

Ice shards formed on the walls and ceiling of the hall before exploding outwards to block Lancers advance; each wall of ice was easily half a foot thick. Lancer blew straight through the first wall before it was even fully formed. The other two gave about as much trouble for the Servant of the Lance. As he shattered the last ice barrier, a dozen boulders of jagged ice flew at him. Even though Lancer could just as easily have swatted them aside, he decides instead to jump through them. Maneuvering his well toned body through the air, he jumps like a life long acrobat. Each move of his muscle and twist of his body is a well timed choreography as he avoided every projectile. He landed lightly without a scratch on his body.

The minor spells, however, had done their job. As Lancer looked up, Louise finished casting another spell. She said one word.

"Explosion"

The hallway was suddenly filled with light as an explosion ignited in right in front of Lancer. The detonation blew open a section of the schools wall and shattered a classroom door into splinters. The explosion had been close enough to throw herself back several feet. As she lifted herself up from the floor once again, all she saw was smoke and fire where Lancer had been. She had used a similarly quickened spell when she had panicked in an ambush. All that had been left of her attacker was a battered corpse. She coughed as she pushed herself from the floor. She noticed her illusion had disappeared, the exertion of the spell evidently having interrupted the mana supplying the spell. Grey smoke and dust obscured where Lancer had been.

"That ought to buy us some time," she figured.

As she stood, the smoke was blown away by a single slash of Lancers weapon. Louise stumbled back in surprise, drawing Derflinger.

Lancer walked calmly towards her with his armor torn and ashen in several places but alive.

"Not bad kid. I don't know what magic you pulled just there, but I'll say I'm impressed," he said, "but the game's over."

The grip on Derflinger wavered as Lancer continued forward until he was less than five meters away from her. Her hands wavered as fear overtook her; shaking so bad she thought she might drop was it.

She was going to die. No tricks, no hope, no help.

"Lower the sword, little Lady, I'm not here for you. After all, you're a magus," he said, "I'm here for the boy there."

Looking back, she saw Shirou was still behind her, watching her.

"You IDIOT! I told you to run," she yelled. She thought he would have at least gotten onto the main road by now. Instead, he was standing there, his eyes wide looking at her.

"I wont ask again, little Lady," said Lancer impatiently, his crimson spear still waiting on his shoulder.

It took everything from Louise to even speak the next word, "N..n...n...n..."

Warm hands grasped her shaking hands and slowly lowered her sword. Beside her stood Shirou. The warm smile on his face was all that stopped her from crying.

"Thank you. For everything you did," he said. As Louise watched paralysed as Shirou moved past her and faced his death.

"Tut, now you've made me feel bad for doing this. Dont worry, kid, I'll make it quick." In one smooth motion, Lancer impaled Shirou in the heart. His body collapsed unceremoniously onto the floor and so did Louise.

"Idiot... idiot..."

She stared at him as his eyes slowly lowered and shut. She wasn't sure how long she sat there looking at Shirou's still form. Lancer had disappeared into the night long ago. She knew this would happen... She knew he had to die... So why did she feel like it was her heart that was stabbed.

"Louise, we have to go" spoke Derflinger quietly.

She heard quick footsteps in the distance. It could only be a certain raven haired twin-tailed magus. Moving with energy she didn't feel, she jumped through the destroyed wall. Reinforcing her legs, she landed on the dirt before disappearing into the darkness.

=====

[BGM: Fate/Hollow Ataraxia - Stranger] .com/watch?v=_zJBSNM77rQ

"Uhhh... Louise, are you ok?" asked Derflinger.

They, well... rather, she, had ran all the way to the main road before stopping, out of breath. (Derflinger normally just cracked dirty jokes and commented on the passing scenery when they travelled["You know, those hills look a lot like Kirche's Mrmphh!"]) Trying to wrack her brain over what was happening, she had wandered along the main road before stopping in front of the inn the couple had suggested.

At first she had been tired and limply collapsed on the bed. However, she then bolted up and quickly rushed to the window. Spending long moments, she had stared outside the window waiting, and hoping. Finally, a bright light pierced the darkness and answered her prayers, Servant Saber had been summoned.

Having sighed with relief, Louise teetering back towards the bed and collapsed; bury her face into the pillow. That was almost an hour ago and she hadn't made a sound or moved a muscle since. Derflinger was starting to get worried she might be dead.

"So what should we do now Louise?" asked Derflinger.

Silence.

Derflinger tried a little louder and this time Louise mumbled something unintelligible through the pillow. His other attempts at communication were met with similar replies of "lemrealone" and "mremeaway".

"What was that, Chibi Louise, I cant hear you. Speak a little louder" said Derflinger mockingly.

Louise's entire body twitched at the statement. Unseen winds tossed her pink hair and black cloak as she rose from the bed, her left eye eerily twitched in anger.

"So the big toy sword thinks he's ready to take on the Master, eh," said Louise as she stepped towards Derflinger. If Derflinger could shiver, he'd have fallen flat on the ground right then. She took one step and then another before she collapsed back onto the plush bed.

"Ugh, I'm too tired to even bother beating you."

She lay there, exhausted, for long moments. Sighing, she sat up and hugged her knees before saying, "We cant stay here. Its too dangerous to simply wait and rest here. We cant afford it right now. Besides that, we can't even do anything. You saw that servant Lancer. Not even the best mages of Helkegania could match him. We'd need a servant in order to do anything here."

"Well, we could always summon a new famil..." the sword stopped as he saw the cold eyes she gave him.

An image of a beautiful girl with golden hair appeared in Louise's mind. The sun rising on the horizon as she stood in the fields of green helped to frame the serene picture. But what made the picture was her smile. Not a smile made from protecting others but one where she was finally smiling for herself; smiling because she was genuinely happy. She had no right to take that away from Shirou and Saber.

"No, We're the ones that dont belong here. All we need to do is leave and everything will be as it was," said the pink haired girl as she whipped several strands of hair behind her shoulder.

"So what now then?" asked the sword.

"Now..." she said as she pulled out a map from her bag and started searching, "we head away and get as far from Fuyuki as possible. Maybe to one of the adjacent prefectures. I figure we'll be able to hide ourselves there until I'm ready for another World Gate attempt. Worse come worse, I could always look for work like a normal person."

"That sounds like a plan," said Derflinger. He wondered if her attempts to find work this time around would be anything like the Charming Fairy Inn. Maybe there was a parallel version of Scarron, the Charming Fairy's manager, on Earth!

Derflinger was snapped from his imagination when Louise began to start packing her bags again.

"Eh? Are we leaving already? But didn't we just get here? Whats the rush," asked Derflinger.

"I don't want to stay one extra second here," explained Louise as she hoisted Derflinger onto her shoulder, "each second here is another chance for something to skew the timeline. And I can't risk that."

As she turned off the lights and closed the door to the room, the sword spoke quietly behind her,  
>"be careful, Louise, you might meet your fate on the same road you took to avoid it."<p>

=====

The cold night air was the first thing that hit her face. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her body, wishing once more she had brought warmer clothing with her. The skirt she was wearing was really inadequate against this late winter cold. Looking around the streets, she saw the city was dark now with only the streetlights and the moon to guide the way.

The night was unnaturally quiet. Only the sound of her light footsteps echoed across the pavement as she walked along these empty streets. She followed the main road trying to figure out what the next step to her plan was.

Derflinger broke the silence by speaking over her shoulder. "I don't suppose we could just teleport to the next prefect, could we? These long walks do get so boring ever since you sent those other mages' back home."

Louise sighed, once again wondering if there was a foundry nearby to melt him down. Then again, knowing her luck, he'd probably come back as a ghost. Then she'd NEVER be able to shut that mouth of his.

As she continued walking towards the outskirts of town, she saw a lone figure approaching her direction; small, maybe a child. As she drew closer, she noted the person was wearing heavy purple winter clothes and had hair as white as snow.

"Hey, you're walking out here awfully late. You aren't lost are you?" asked Louise as she knelt down slightly to look at the girl.

"Nope," she replied with an adorable smile, "I'm going to visit my onii-chan." Her voice was akin to a true child without a care in the world.

She seemed familiar... Wracking her brain, Louise tried to remember where she had seen her before. In the back of her head, a little bell was ringing in alarm.

"I thought I met all the magus' here already. I guess I'm lucky to have met you tonight. Let me properly introduce myself."

The girl of winter lifted up the side of her coat and bowed.

And then, Louise remembered. A moonlit night. In fact, this exact night. Shirou would meet this girl.

"Illya?" said Louise in recognition as she drew back. She realised too late that she had said that out loud.

"Eh? How do you know my name?" said the red-eyed girl. She squinted her eyes at Louise.

"I... Uhh..." her face turned red as she tried to come up with a suitable lie. She cursed the Root for her horrible luck. She'd been so caught up with what had happened that she completely forgot about what would happen later tonight. Well, actually right now... Gah, she was confusing herself now.

"Are you working for one of the other masters? Maybe for Mages Association?" Illya leaned towards her slightly with both hands behind her back. Her once carefree demeanor had been replaced with distrust and suspicion.

Looking into her eyes, she tried to come up with any suitable reason other than "I enacted the 5th magic and travelled back in time from another world all by accident." Unable to come up with anything, she settled with several half stuttered "uh..."s.

Finally making up her mind, Louise took one step back and then fled with all the strength she had.

"Hmph, fine then, it doesn't matter anyways," said Illya.

Pirouetting in her boots, she called for her unseen servant in that sing-song voice of hers.

"Ber-ser-ker"

[BGM: Fate/Stay Night - Nightmare] .com/watch?v=D1c1UXyYiTI

Greece's demi-god Hero appeared behind Illya. In his over sized hands was a worked sword made of jagged rocked. The bronzed giant stood over two times as tall as the small Illya with rock shattering muscles. But Louise doesn't even need to look back to know that. She could feel the air seemingly chill across her skin as this behemoth servant materialized.

"Stop her, Berserker," said Illya calmly, "and try to leave her in one piece when you're done."

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

======

She couldn't believe Illya called forth Berserker. It was like summoning a fireball to swat a gnat. To say she and Berserker were mismatched was like saying the sun was slightly hot. Her lungs burned as she put everything into reinforcing her body to increase her speed. The previous fatigue she had been feeling had vaporised the instant she heard its guttural scream. Even as she ran she could hear the sound of its rampaging charge closing the little distance she had gained. Cresting the rise of a hill, she stopped.

Standing there, she began to cast a spell. She didn't have the speed to outrun Berserker nor the strength to fight him. Therefore, she'd have to change the rules.

As Berserker rounded the crest of the hill, he saw the tiny magus . His target had finally had stopped. With one jump he flew over 20 feet into the air and impacted onto Louise's still form. When the dust from the explosion settled, there were over a dozen identical bodies of the tiny pink haired mage scattered on the road.

Berserker being Berserker didn't notice or didnt care that his target had split into twelve duplicates. All that mattered to him was that he to follow his masters orders. Nothing else could stand in the way..

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

And with that, Berserker charged at the nearest target.

Louise coughed as the dust from Berserker's impact settled. Even though she had managed to avoid the blow by a good distance, the force of the impact had sent her hurling into the air and into hedges. Looking at where Berserker had landed was an impact crater filled with cracked asphalt and dust. That might have been her... Disentangling herself from the hedge she had landed in, she saw Beserker had already taken down two of her illusions. She hastily fled down an alley, feeling the ground shake as the her illusions were slowly hunted down.

She ran until her chest like it would burst and then ran some more. The roar of that beast and the sounds of destruction slowly began to soften behind her. The Einzeberns had wanted the strongest servant possible and their wish had been granted. Root be damned, not even the army at Saxe Gotha would have lain low this Servant. Looking behind her, she made sure the monster hadn't been secretly following her before collapsing. Her legs burned from the marathon of running she had done. And yet... she couldn't rest. Those illusions wouldn't last anymore than several seconds against that hulk. She spoke the words to a spell before jumping into the air... and then careening rapidly skyward.

"Kyaa!" screamed Louise.

She landed hard on one of the western tiled roofs. She muttered something about the Root before pushing herself up.

"You could use some more work on those wind spells," muttered Derflinger.

Ignoring the sword, she cast the spell again. This time when she leapt into the air she gracefully flew across the street onto the adjacent rooftop. She was a little surprised it had even worked. Despite her best practice her elemental spells were still basic and unreliable.

Continuing to propel herself from rooftop to rooftop she made her way as far from Berserker as possible. As she made the jump across a particularly long distance, she missed seeing the fast grey shadow as it jumped up into the air for her.

Louise had time to mutter one "eep" before the bronzed hand grasping her by the leg and threw her into the side of a building. The wooden walling cracking as her body slammed into it.

Recovering her senses the pain hit her.

[End BGM]

"-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The pain blanked her mind and made thoughts of anything else impossible. Looking down she saw one of her legs was bent at an impossible angle. It would be more accurate to describe it as a crushed puppet than a leg anymore. At her knee, bones were sticking out from all the wrong places. Her wail echoed across the empty streets and into the night sky.

Trying to move even her body a little she let out a whimper as a new wave of searing pain hit her. Through her tear stained eyes, a shadow eclipsed her view. The tiny Illya leaned town toward her and filled her vision.

"Oh, are you done running?" said Illya. "You ran so far I was afraid I would never find you." The girl's innocent voice was a stark contrast to the grim situation around her.

Each of her breaths was a labored whimper, her mind too overcome with pain to even speak. Darkness threatened the edges of her vision as she slowly strayed toward unconsciousness. She lowered her head onto the grass in defeat.

"This was it. I'm out of magic and tricks. There would be no Hero of Justice to save me this time" she thought.

"Its a shame. You would have made a good Master with that magic of yours" said Illya. Placing one of her hands on her hip she gave off a menacing smirk on her face.

"Beserker, go kill her."

"Stop!"

She could hear more voices speaking now; Illya and someone else. But it didn't matter now. The darkness closed around her vision, and as the last of her consciousness faded from her mind she thought she heard a familiar voice. The voice of a hero and a lost friend.

*****

**Well, that's it. Tell me what you thought about it in the reviews please. Also, regarding the BGM, tell me what you thought about it. Was the music change too often, or too soon? Should I remove it? Once again, any constructive comments are welcome.**


	2. Chapter 1: Deviation

**Author's Notes: Terribly sorry for the late update. My editor has been sick for the last two weeks and as such it's been ready to go yet in limbo for a while. **

**I also feel like I should make this clear to all of you before I go on.**

**The Hill of Swords was a great piece of word centered around Shirou and how he partnered with and trained Louise into becoming something more than just a zero mage. The gist of the story is "Zero no Tsukaima with Shirou" where Shirou shows off his badass skills and the story focuses mostly on Shirou and Louise's interactions.**

**However, due to how the FSN universe works that obviously cant happen here as Servants are above and beyond the power of most Magus/Mages. FSN also has more characters that I want to focus on so it can't just be purely on Shirou and Louise.**

**Essentially, this won't be "Fate/Stay Night with Louise". Rather, this will be more like Fate/Stay Night that has Louise as a character in the story... if that makes sense.**

**Anyways, I'll quit boring you with my spiel. On with Chapter 1.**

**Threads of Fate**  
><strong>Chapter 1: Deviation<strong>

**Day 3: February 2nd**  
><strong>- Once More, with Feeling -<strong>

Shirou flew through the tiny shed's open doorway before landing on his back.

"Checkmate, kid. I guess this is how it ends." said the man in blue, his crimson spear pointed in front of Shirou's heart. Shirou lay on the cold wooden floor, his heart beating frantically in front of the spear's lethal tip.

"It's unlikely, but maybe you were the seventh one. Well, this is it for you even if that's true. Goodbye, kid." said Lancer as he adjusted his grip.

They say time is relative. As he stared at the crimson spear, Shirou lived a lifetime in that moment.

Images of the inferno 10 years ago seeped into his mind. The sky was painted bright orange and red from the flames that had engulfed the entire block. A fire so hot that each breath felt like you were skinning your own throat. He vividly remembered people walking down the streets with their heads in their hands. He wasn't aware at the time, but it had been to ease the pain upon their burnt faces. To him it had made them seem like the souls of the damned as they walked to the underworld. It was an image straight from Dante's Inferno A catastrophe that took hundreds of people's lives. He had been the only one saved.

_[Fate/Stay Night - Kishi Ou no Hokori] _  
><span>.comwatch?v=ErttGQvvp5I

So he had to live. He had to live so that their lives meant something.

His thoughts shifted back to tonight. To the pink haired magus that had tried to save him. To his second chance as he awoke alone in the dark school hallway. He'd been given another chance. So why was this happening? Why would he die twice in one night?

"This is bullshit! I reject this. I can't die like this," he thought. Anger bubbled and then exploded in him as he cried out.

"Damn it! I won't die here!"

Blinding light filled the room. Even though he shut his eyes the light was bright enough to blind his vision. A sudden roar of wind reached Shirou's ears and the lance that had been at his chest was battered aside with a sudden blow. The sound of metal on metal rang again in Shirou's ears and he heard Lancer gasp in surprise. Faced with a real threat, he heard Lancer leap back most likely to gain space.

"So you're the seventh Servant?" Lancer asked.

When Shirou's eyes adjusted back, he saw Lancer with doubt and uncertainty on his face. Between him and Lancer was a girl dressed in regal blue wearing brilliant plate armor. With one quick motion, Lancer jumped back outside.

Making sure to keep her guard towards the door, she looked at Shirou with her jewel-like eyes. At that moment, the clouds drifted past and pure white moonlight shone through the open door, highlighting her shining blond hair as if it were sprinkled with gold dust. The light reflecting off her pale skin and further heightened her elegant features.

He was speechless. The way she was dressed placed her as a warrior; yet he couldn't stop thinking of her as an angel. Such was her overwhelming beauty that his mind temporarily forgot the man still outside; about how close he had been to death mere moments ago.

"Servant Saber, answering your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?" she said.

Caught by surprise at her question, he could only stupidly mutter, "huh... Mas... ter?"

Cocking an eyebrow in amusement, she gave a slight sigh.

"Truly, the world must have an odd sense of humor. "

"Aack!" cried Shirou. An intense pain flared in his left hand as if it had been branded. As the pain slowly faded he could see an odd marking where it had hurt. Saber stared from her position across from him.

"It appears our contract is complete then. Wait here, Master, I shall deal with the Servant outside" she said.

Without another word she gracefully leaped out of the shed out towards the waiting enemy outside.

"Wait!" he shouted, but she was already gone. 

[Fate/Stay Night - Colliding Souls]  
><span>.comwatch?v=dBYxsv2S1kU

Shirou ran outside. In the yard sparks lit up the dark as the two servant's met in battle. The man in blue, so confident and arrogant previously, was battling simply to maintain his ground, each attack of his met easily with the invisible weapon in her hands. Despite her petite frame, Saber was easily driving him back; after every parry, she advanced with a counterattack which pushed Lancer closer to the yard's walls. Lancer had lost the initiative; it was Saber now that was controlling the pace of the battle.

"Coward, show your weapon!" yelled Lancer as he thrust once more. More sparks showered the ground as his spear met the invisible blade.

The scene repeated itself across the yard. Saber would drive her opponent back until it looked as if he was on the verge of collapse. Then Lancer would deftly

Jumping back he swung his lance outward in a wide arc in the hopes of creating some breathing space. It didn't work. With a lightning dash Saber closed the distance and met Lancer's swing with a powerful attack that threw off his guard and exposed his blue chestpiece. She brought her weapon down hard in the hopes of finishing this fight.

Twisting his body with inhuman speed, he tossed himself to the side and cleared the blade's edge by an inch. Saber's blade impacted with enough force to embed itself deep into the ground. Even without hitting him, the force of the swing was strong enough to tilt Lancers jump and disrupt the grace within his usual movement.

Unsure of this new enemy, Lancer withdrew rather than take advantage of the slight opening provided by her heavy swing. He opened the distance between the two of them as she withdrew her embedded weapon from the ground and faced him. Silence descended upon the yard as they stared at one another; their respective armaments at the ready. Her olive green eyes squinted and met Lancer's red eyes as they waited patiently for the others movements. Both heroes were breathing calmly despite with the fierce battle mere moments ago. Time passed in uncomfortable silence as they watched one another. Only the sound of the soft wind could be heard tossing the bushes in the yard. With the moon out from the clouds, it was truly a cinematic scene.

"Are we to stare at one another until one of us dies of old age?" said Saber, finally breaking the silence.

"I'll come for you yet," replied Lancer, "but let me ask you this first. Your Noble Phantasm, is it a sword?"

Saber chuckled softly, a slight grin on her face. "Surely the Servant of the lance would know a bow when he saw one?"

Lancer would have immediately brushed off this comment, however, he had just fought an Archer that had been wielding swords tonight. His face turned pale for a mere moment as he contemplated her words before he broke out in a small laugh.

"I like you, Servant Saber," he said with a wide grin, "which is why I'll ask this before going on. Do you want to call it even?"

He motioned to Shirou near the house, "That Master of yours is an inexperienced fool and my Master just so happens to be a coward. Wouldn't you say its in the best of our interests to hold off until we're both better prepared?" At the mention of her Master, she automatically took two steps to cover Shirou.

Lancer lowered his lance as if to indicate he didn't want to fight anymore. His body relaxed and the grip on the lance slacked.

Shirou's eyes, however, grew wide at that stance. It was the same one Lancer had before at the school. The finishing move. He had no idea what it may be but he had to warn Saber. He opened his mouth to shout a warning.

Saber replied, "I accept."

Lowering her weapon she placed one of her hands on her hips and relaxed her stance.

"Hmph, I didn't think you'd actually take up my offer," said Lancer, "perhaps you were truly afraid of being pierced by my lance?"

"Your agility with your weapon is indeed great, Lancer," replied Saber stoically, "but I knew a warrior that could wield two spear with better finesse and technique.

Lancer clucked his tongue. "Geh, I've never had the best of luck with women" he said with chagrin before leaping back on top of the wall and into the night.

Saber continued to look in the direction that Lancer had fled, as if in thought. Shirou slowly walked towards Saber and she softly turned her head towards him. Moments of silence passed by as Shirou tried to collect the swarm of thoughts and emotions that flew through his mind.

"Thank you..." said Shirou finally.

"It is a Servant's duty to protect their Master. There is no reason to thank me for what I have done, Shirou" replied Saber.

He recoiled slightly in surprise, "Wait, how do you know my name?"

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before returning to their normal size. "Servants are given all the knowledge they require about this age before they are summoned. It is the reason I am able to converse with you during this Holy Grail War. Do you understand, Emiya Shirou?"

"I guess... But there's still so much I don't. You keep on talking about Servants, Masters and a war but this if the first time of heard of all of this" he said frankly.

"I understand," she says in a polite tone. "You are not a formal Master, therefore it is obvious there would be gaps in your knowledge. I would suggest..."

Suddenly, her elegant demeanor changed. Focusing on a section of the yard's wall she stopped talking and materialized her invisible weapon in her hand. Around her was an air of hostility. Before Shirou could ask what was wrong, Saber puts her hand up to quiet him.

"There are two enemies behind that wall. Judging by their aura, it shouldn't take more than several moments for me to defeat them. Please wait here, Shirou" she said. With that, Saber jumped high into the air, landed lightly on the yard wall and disappeared onto the other side.

"Enemies?" he thought. So enemies like that Servant Lancer... Which meant she would be fighting again. With that realization, Shirou bolted at full speed towards the front door. Having just enough presence of mind not to collide through the main door in haste, he unlocked the sliding door and looked outside.

The road was covered in darkness once again as the moon returned to its place behind the clouds. Looking around, he couldn't see Saber on the darkened streets anywhere. A sound of steel meeting steel caught his attention and he ran for its source. Rounding the corner, he saw Saber swing down towards a man in red.

He may not have known who that man was, but he knew that Saber would attack that person behind him after he was dead. He couldn't allow that.

A pain filled voice echoed through his ears like a ghost from the past. A voice from earlier tonight at school...

"Idiot... Why did it have to be you?"

He definitely couldn't allow that to happen. So he yelled with all his strength.

"STOP, SABER!" 

For humans, watching a fight between servants could be considered an act of beauty. Lancer's speed could dodge a storm of bullets. A Berserker could rampage through a city and tear it apart building by building with his bare hands. Such was the power of beings beyond the material plane of existence.

Which was why when Saber swung her invisible sword downward, only Archer noticed her odd behavior. Saber was a determined and driven warrior. Her first attack had shattered Kanshou and Bakuya with one deft stroke. By the time he had recovered, the invisible sword was already pointed at his neck. To a normal human observer it would have appeared that Shirou's command spell had stopped her swing. But to a Servant, her attack was slow. Her attack had already begun to falter before Shirou had even opened his mouth.

Invisible Air was held unwavering directly at his throat. The sword's fickle sheath wavered to and fro like an unending layer of ice over water. Diverting his gaze from the death that was so close to his neck, he looked at Saber's face.

_[Fate/Stay Night OST - Into the Sunlight]_  
><span>.comwatch?v=U9LwesC3SE4&feature=related

She was smiling.

It wasn't the face of a Servant ready to defeat her opponent. Rather, it looked more like she was seeing an old friend; friendly and warm.

All at once, a memory appeared in his head. He was on his back just like now in the Dojo. They had been training hard all morning. He had tried to take advantage of an opening left by Saber and swung his Shinai. Of course, she was quicker and had swiftly knocked him back onto the wooden floor. Saber, with her Shinai pointed at his throat, looked down at him. In the soft sunlight of the afternoon, Saber made a smile and offering her hand to him.

"Shirou, it is noon. Should we not have some lunch?" asked the Saber in the Dojo. The memory faded from his mind, but the Saber remained.

"What..?" said Archer in a daze confusion.

_[Music End]_

Seemingly satisfied with Archer's confused reaction, she turned her attention back to Shirou.

"Are you daft, Shirou? We could have defeated Archer and his Master here if you hadn't stopped me. Retract your order." said Saber. The earlier warm feeling Archer had felt from Saber was gone; hidden under her iron mask.

"Just what was going on here" thought Archer.

Inching himself back, he returned to Rin's side. Rin whispered to him, "are you ok, Archer?" He responded with a curt nod. As he and Rin watched, Saber and Shirou were arguing back and forth. Just when it looked like they would both come to a head...

"Perhaps I can help, Emiya-kun" said Rin. The Master and Servant both turned simultaneously to look at her.

"Tohsaka... Rin?"

"That's right, Emiya-kun," Rin said with a grin, "You said you're an amateur Magus, right? Since you spared my Servants and my life, I'll help explain everything about the Holy Grail War to you. After all, it's the least I can do. We'll see where we go from there. Does that sound fine to the both of you?"

Shirou and Saber gave their assent by nodding. However, Saber's invisible weapon was still raised in the air pointing at Archer. Her eyes were cold steel as she looked at him.

"Very well," said Rin, "Archer could you turn yourself into spirit form for a while? Saber wont lower her guard while you're still here."

He complied and literally disappeared. He floated to the top of the Emiya household to gain the best view of the surroundings. As the group walked in to the Emiya residence, Saber glanced upwards. At the edge of her mouth, the slightest of muscle twitches gave away her well concealed grin right before she disappeared into the building.

"This war is off to a very interesting start," he thought. 

Archer waited in spirit form as Rin and Shirou headed off towards the church on the hill. After Rin had explained the initial rules, they had headed to meet Kotomine and explain the rest of the Holy Grail War to Shirou. Now, all there was left to do was wait until the two Masters returned.

Saber, ever the patient guardian, stood like a stone statue looking in the direction of the church. Moments passed as the only sound of gently rustling leaves in the wind. He looked over at the Knight of the Sword on his right. She was different from the Saber he knew. His Saber would have given no quarter nor spared an enemy such as him nor shown any emotion other than her intent to kill. She certainly wouldn't have spared him voluntarily like she had.

Yet he couldn't ignore the facts right in front of him. Staring at her with his reinforced eyes, he could see every one of her beautiful features. Her golden hair shining in the moonlight, not a single strand out of place. Her olive green eyes. Her soft pale skin. The way she held herself in that dignified pose even with the ridiculous banana yellow raincoat over her petite form. This was definitely his Saber.

"Enjoying what you are seeing, Archer?" said Saber as she grinned mischievously in his direction.

He materialized with his arms crossed in annoyance; puffing a sigh of annoyance.

"Just who exactly are you?" he said.

"My identity is between me and my Master to keep. Surely it is the same between you and Rin, Archer" replied Saber as she widened her grin into a smile.

"How did she...? No, that was impossible. The only person that had heard that conversation was himself and Rin. Its probably just a coincidence she was saying that" he thought, trying and failing to convince himself. He sighed again. By the Root, she was driving him insane.

"You are a very peculiar Servant, Saber" replied Archer. His face not betraying any of the surprise from her previous comment.

"Oh?" said Saber. She turned her entire attention to Archer now. "In comparison to what? Is there another Servant Saber you've met to compare? Perhaps you've fought in a previous Holy Grail War, Archer?" The smile she had been sporting had turned into a smirk.

Archer's face twitched. Veins bulged in his forehead. He was going to die. His attempts at restraining himself from strangling Saber would cause him to have a brain aneurysm. He would be the very first Servant to die from annoyance. His once chance at peace ruined because of this Servant Saber!

Calming himself down, the one single burning question returned to his mind.

"Who was she!"

To preserve his own sanity, he returned to spirit form.

Returning her attention to the Church, they remained silent for the remaining time. Saber maintained her watch as Archer mulled over the events of the evening.

"Rejoice, boy, your wish shall finally come true."

The fake priests words rang in Shirou's head. The last few moments with Kotomine had left a bitter taste in his mouth. There was simply something about him that repulsed him to the core. It wasn't something he could describe physically. By all means, Kotomine had answered all their questions as a respectful priest, despite droning on slightly. No... What repulsed him was something he couldn't put into words. Just like how ice and fire could not exist together, he could not bring himself to like anything about that priest.

Shaking off his linger words, Shirou breathed in the cold night air. The refreshing air helped to relax his mind and body. He was still turning over all the information Kotomine had told him when he finally returned to Saber.

"Shirou, I assume our business here is concluded then?" asked Saber.

"Yes. I think I've learned more than enough about whats happening. About this war" he said. Saber tilted her head slightly and moved closer. Even though she had said nothing, he knew what she was asking. She was waiting for the answer to her unasked question. He took in another breath of winter air to cool the heat within his chest. Unable to delay his answer any longer, he spoke.

"I will fight as a Master" he answered.

Saber's response was instantaneous. She backed away at lightning speed with both arms now now open at her side. In her eyes was a look of utter shock. Her killing intent was radiating off of her in a way he hadn't even seen when she fought Lancer. Though she hadn't materialized her sword, the hostility coming from her was enough for Archer to materialize in front of Rin to protect her.

"Sa... ber?" said Shirou. Then he realized it. She was in this war to win the grail. To ally with a failure of a Magus such as himself would only hurt her chances of winning.

His heart hammered in his chest. Despite the killing intent that was emanating from her, he took a step forward to Saber. "I'm sorry that I'm an amateur of a Magus, Saber." He looked down with a saddened face. "I will not force you to partner with me. Though I want to prevent the disaster from ten years ago from happening again, I will not do so against your will. A Servant is a partner, not a slave." Raising his left hand, he looked at the mark of the command spell. Only two command spells were left.

Could he really give up his command of Saber just like this?

Saber's diminutive figure moved towards Shirou and small gauntlet clad hands moved to gently grasp his raised hand. Looking up, he saw Saber holding his hand with her own. The killing intent and tension from her was completely gone. Replacing it was the same stoic face as before.

"I am sorry, Shirou. I was being... thoughtless. Though you may not be the most powerful of Masters, you are still my Master. I promised you my sword for this war and I will not renege on that promise" said Saber. "If you will have me, Shirou, we will win this war together as Master and Servant." With that, she placed his hand back onto his chest and pulled away.

A sudden relief swept through his body at her words and eased his pounding heart. He promised himself that even though he may have had no wish, he would help obtain the Grail for her sake.

"Thank you, Saber," said Shirou with a heartfelt smile.

He looked back at Tohsaka and Archer. Archer's expression was as unreadable as ever. Tohsaka, however, was focused on them. Her cheeks had turned red at the emotional scene and her hands were scrunching together. Noticing Shirou looking at her, she quickly straightened up. Tossing her hair behind her shoulder, she looked off into the distance as if nothing happened.

"It's getting late. We should leave" she said. 

[Fate/Stay Night OST - Midnight Interval]  
><span>.comwatch?v=SyQaOxUzB-U

They walked back towards Miyama in silence. Reaching the intersection between Shinto and Fuyuki bridge, Rin stopped.

"This is where I leave, Emiya-kun," said Rin as she turned to face him.

"Huh? Aren't you coming back with us?" asked Shirou.

She shook her head. "The only reason I came with you here is to teach you about the war. It wouldn't have been fair to let you continue in this war without understanding all the fact. Since I couldn't beat you I'll have to look for other Servants in Shinto tonight.

"Anyways," she said nonchalantly, "I did owe you one."

"Oh, you mean from before? With the command spell?" he asked. She nodded her head in confirmation.

"I know its something silly, but I couldn't fight you if you didn't know whats going on. Besides, I don't like owing debts to people. If you had died before I could repay you then I would have had that over my head forever." She looked away in annoyance as she said that. "But that's been repaid now. So remember. From tomorrow on, we're both enemies."

On this moonlit night his impression of the Tohsaka the school idol had been shattered. She was grouchy, sour and cold with a personality that could freeze and melt ones hand off if one could touch it. And yet... she had done all these unnecessary things to help him understand this war.

"Eh? Emiya-kun, why are you smiling?" she asked.

Perhaps it was a sign of Tohsaka's true personality sticking out of that cold mask of the Magus?

"Even if you didn't need to, you helped me out in this situation even though it was completely unnecessary for you. Deep down, you really are a good person, Tohsaka. That's why I don't want to be enemies with you. I like people like you" he said.

"Wha-" she said quietly. A look of surprise plastered onto her face. There was an awkward silence as Rin fumbled to recover herself. She nervously flung several locks of hair behind her shoulder in an attempt to buy time and regain her fractured composure. Failing to do so, she enacted a tried and true strategy in warfare.

"A... An... Anyways, Emiya-kun. If you lose your Servant remember to flee to the church. That way at least you'll be alive" said Tohsaka rather quickly. Turning around, she quickly retreated away from them. Tohsaka's footsteps echoed across the asphalt as she walked towards Shinto proper.

Shirou took a look around. The streets were empty with not another soul outside. The recent murders in Fuyuki must have scared everyone inside. He continued to watch Tohsaka as she slowly began to disappear into the distance. Even though he knew it may have been wrong as a Master, he wished there was something that could have kept them together. He had been speaking the truth when he said he didn't want to be her enemy.

He heard Saber sigh behind him.

"Shirou, should we not head back?" inquired Saber. Both of her gauntleted hands were on her hips as she waited for him. He nodded in confirmation. As he walked past her, he noticed Saber staring at Rin's back for a moment longer than normal before following in his footsteps. 

The two continued back towards the Emiya residence in silence. The silence was rather stifling for Shirou; as if it were something physical like a heat wave. Gathering his courage, he looked at the small Servant next to him.

"Hey, Saber?" said Shirou. Saber looked towards him from the hood of the jacket.

"We're partners now, right? So don't you think we learn more about each other?" he said.

"I believe it would be imprudent to talk about our strengths and weakness out in the open like this, Shirou" responded Saber as they kept walking.

"Guh, that's not what I meant..." he struggled to form the right question in his mind...

Taking a moment to contemplate his words, he spoke. "I was wondering what kind of person you were. What did you like to do in your life? After all, you must have been someone before you became a Servant."

"I see..." she responded.

"Shirou..." She stopped walking and turned to him. The air seemed to freeze cold as she looked at him with serious eyes. "I am here to win us the war. I am not your friend nor your family. I am your sword and shield. I will likely disappear when the war is over. As such, I would suggest you avoid growing any emotional attachments to me."

Though she hadn't changed the regular tone of her voice, the air seemed to drop several degrees. It wasn't that she was being mean or cold but rather she was being... machine-like. Mechanically efficient. It was a type of attitude that disturbed Shirou to no end.

Saber continued talking.

"Although... I would like to request one thing" she said.

"Oh? what's th.. gah" Shirou had to take a step back at Saber's expression.

Her face crumpled in annoyance as she looked at Shirou directly in the eyes for this. "I am not wearing this ridiculous raincoat after tonight. Understood?" Shirou shrunk under her gaze.

"Well... I uh... I thought that it might help hide your armor while we walked to..." he didn't get to finish his sentence. Moving in closer, Saber came in with the second wave of her attack

"It unnecessarily narrows my field of vision. In addition, it will hinder my movements if we are ambushed. Do you really think that is a good idea?" Saber kept up her withering stare and Shirou shrank some more.

"Well, I agree that those are... valid points..." he muttered to himself.

Moving right up to Shirou's face, Saber came in with the final wave of her attack.

"And its yellow!" she almost shouted, "really, could you have picked a more ridiculous color?" She put her hands at her hips and gave a huff. "If you really wanted me to remain inconspicuous then you could have at least given me a coat with a more earthen color."

Ding ding ding, fortress Emiya has been breached. Retreat!

"I guess you're right..." he conceded.

Moving back to her original position at his side, the hostile expression on her face reverted to the calm face she had held all night.

"Shall we continue walking, Shirou?" said Saber, as if nothing had happened.

Before he could answer, a piercing scream shattered the peaceful quiet of the night. A cold shiver went down his back at the sound.

"Saber?" said Shirou as if to confirm his own hearing.

"I heard it too, Shirou. Over there" said Saber motioning towards the southern part of Miyama.

They both took off at a breakneck speed. His thoughts returned to the news earlier this morning. A family had been found viciously killed; their wounds inflicted by something like an axe or a sword. He picked up his pace and hoped he wasn't too late. Saber must have slowed herself down on purpose as Shirou was just barely able to keep up with her. Rounding a corner into a dead end, what he saw made him stop in his tracks.

Standing beside one of the houses was a towering behemoth. Even with its back turned towards them, he could tell this thing was the same thing as Saber or Archer; a Servant. Its skin was the unnatural color of lead with every single inch of its body filled to the brim with rock hard muscles. He could imagine the giant shattering boulders with only its arms alone. He didn't even have to guess. The only class this servant could be was Berserker.

Under its shadow was the pink haired Magus from before. Her face was contorted in complete utter pain and tears openly flowed from her beautiful eyes; her pain coming from the unnatural angle of one of her legs. She gave another painful rasp as she futilely tried to move. Even from here he could hear her pained cries.

Leaning over her was the small girl he'd seen two days ago. Wearing a purple winter hat and coat with hair like pure snow, her rather small stature clashed with the great monster beside her. If he had to guess, she would have been five years his junior... Would she really be that behemoth's Master?

"Berserker, go kill her" said the tiny girl cheerfully.

He knew he should run away. That Servant standing there was something even Saber wouldn't be able to handle. So he should run away, devise a plan or ally with Rin to bring it down... But if he ran away now, she would die. He remembered her trembling as she faced down Lancer; her fear so strong it shook her delicate hands. Yet, she stood up to protect him even though she could have ran. She stood up to Lancer because she wanted to help him. If he couldn't even stand up for his ideals like her then what hero was he?

"Stop!" yelled Shirou.

The tiny child turned around at Shirou's voice. Her red eyes widened in surprise as she saw Shirou. "Oh! Onii-chan! How funny, I was just thinking about looking for you. I'm happy you saved me the trouble."

"Let me introduce myself properly," she said as she lifted her skirt and bowed gracefully, "I am Ilya. Ilyasviel von Einzebern."

His eyes looked back and fourth between the tiny girl and the unconscious pink-haired Magus on the ground. He knew it would be a futile effort but he had to know. "Ilya... did you hurt that girl over there?" said Shirou.

"Yep," said Ilya with a smile while leaning forward with her cute face, "she was probably working for another Master so I had to make sure she didn't get away."

"You were going to kill her simply because she might be a threat?" he said with surprise.

"Of course," she replied, as if what she said was the most normal thing in the world, "if someone gets in the way of retrieving the Grail then they has to be eliminated. Just because she isn't a Servant or Master doesn't mean she won't be a threat. Any other Master would do the same."

"Anyways, now that introductions are done, we can start. Go ahead, Berserker. Kill them."

[BGM: Fate/Stay Night - Clashing Souls]  
><span>.comwatch?v=UTcPaBt_pFA

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

Berserker screamed an inhuman roar. Jumping high into the air, he launched himself at them.

"Shirou! Get away!" yelled Saber. Throwing her coat away, she leapt into the air and intercepted Berserker's attack.

The air shuddered as they both collide in midair while windows vibrated from the force of the shockwave. Saber crashed backwards, not even her great strength could stand against this beast. Tucking herself into a ball, she tumbling like an odd ball along the asphalt before halting herself in a three-point stance. She looked up from the ground and Shirou saw a fierce determination in her eyes. Tightening her gauntlet's grip on the sword, she launched herself at the great Servant once more.

Metal met stone as the two Servants continued their battle. Each clash of their weapons sent out miniature blasts that he felt even at this slight distance. However, Shirou could tell even with Saber's skill she could not win this. Each of Berserker's attacks were easily driving her back. Despite her own agility, Saber was stuck on the defensive. The easiest way to describe Berserker would be a lightning fast whirlwind of death. Cars and lampposts were cleaved in twain where his stone sword struck. Saber was using her invisible sword to deflect the multitude of blows but not matter how many attacks she blocked she wouldn't be able to pierce the barrage of attacks and stop Berserker.

Yet even with such disparity in power, she still kept fighting. Shirou gripped his own hands tightly enough that he thought they might be red with blood. He had promised himself that he would help Saber win the war, and yet all he could do was stand here and watch. He cursed himself for his own uselessness.

Berserker struck once again and shattered Saber's guard. As he raised his stone sword to strike Saber down, over a dozen bolts of blue energy struck Berserker in the back. No, wait... It would be more accurate to describe them as fireballs. Each one detonated with the strength of a hand grenade that exploded with enough force to shake the ground.

"Tohsaka?" said Shirou out loud. He looked hopefully in the direction where the spell had been cast but saw only darkness. Whoever had casted the spell must have been content to hide in the darkness and watch.

As the once the smoke cleared, Berserker stood there unscathed. The powerful spell had failed to even wound the Servant. It had, however, allowed Saber to deftly propel herself backwards and gain some breathing space.

"Ignore the weak attack! Kill Saber first, Berserker!" commanded Ilya.

Listening to Ilya, Berserker continued his unrelenting charge towards Saber.

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

Racing at full speed away from Berserker, Saber used her momentum to race up the side of a house wall and then propelled herself backwards. Jumping above even the tall giant, she swung downward. Swinging in a backward arc, Berserker swatted Saber backwards into the air and landed; in between Berserker and Ilya. Bolting forwards the moment she touched, Saber used all her strength to close the distance between her and Berserker's small master.

Shirou understood. Berserker was Saber's superior in every way. The only way to win... no, to even survive would be to change the conditions of the battle. If you couldn't fight a powerful enemy one on one then you would have to take out the physically weaker master. So why did it feel like there was a hole in his chest when he imagined Ilya being slashed by Saber? Was this truly the only way?

The monstrous Servant barreled after Saber. He didn't know if it was possible, but Berserker seemed even madder than before. However, even with all his anger and strength, it was clear the mighty Servant wouldn't be able to catch up with Saber. Running from the impending doom behind her, Saber raised her sword and gave a roaring scream as she swung with her invisible sword.

"Berserker! Help!" Ilya yelled.

And then Berserker materialized in front of Ilya; his stone sword at the ready.

"Ah, of course. The command spell. I completely forgot about that" thought Shirou dimly.

Saber's eyes widened almost to the size of monocles at the sudden teleportation. Unable to block Berserker's blow, she took the attack straight on and was thrown like a puppet down the street. A sickening thud reached Shirou's ears. A streak of crimson marked where Saber landed before grinding to a halt.

_[Music Stop]_

"Saber!" he yelled.

He ran. Sliding to her on his knees, he then cradled the small girl's head with his arms. Her breathe was ragged and skin clammy. Her half-closed eyes were vacant; still recovering from the earth shattering blow. He looked down near her wound. What had once been immaculate shining armor was now shredded and shattered. Blood leaked continuously from her grave wound as she struggled to keep her breath going. Unable to do anything else, he took off his sweater and pressed it against the wound to staunch the blood. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do.

With nothing to stop him, Berserker advanced with impunity towards them.

A stream of blue flames launched from the darkness and impacted Berserkers chest. The fire completely enveloped Berserker's torso before flowing past him. On the brick wall behind him, bleed off from the attack was enough to sear the wall until the brick and mortar began to sag from great heat. And yet, the Servant remained standing. Even as the stream of fire withered and died, he stood tall. Fire that would have melted through steel plating simply slid against the Servant's lead colored skin.

As the fire finally faded, he could see the spell wasn't completely ineffective. Sections of Berserker's skin had been melted and peeled away to reveal flesh and muscle. However, it was clear the Servant was still ready and able to kill at Ilya's command. 

With the attack's failure, the caster retreated between two houses. Shirou caught a brief glimpse of a crimson and black cloak before the person vanished in the shadows.

Ilya gave off an innocent child-like laugh that could have froze helium. "Whoever you are, that was a good try; but your attacks are futile. There's no way to defeat my Berserker," said Ilya, "after all, he is the strongest hero of Greece. Hercules."

"Hercules" said Shirou; whispering the name in awe and fear.

"Shirou?" said Saber weakly. Finally regaining her senses, she unsteadily got to her knees.

"Saber, you have to run, I'll hold Berserker back" said Shirou with more confidence than he felt. He knew it was a stupid statement the moment he said it. However, the alternative was to let Saber continue battling. In her current condition, it couldn't even be called a fight. But much more than that, he just didn't want to see her get hurt. Her face shouldn't have to bear such pain.

Helping her up to her feet, Saber pushed him away with her remaining strength.

"Idiot! Do you think you're going to be able to fight a Serva... Argh" Saber collapsed back to her knees before she could finish the sentence. It was evident even to a a failure of a Magus such as him that she was wounded really bad. If she couldn't even stand then there was no way she could walk let alone fight.

"Anyways," said Ilya growing impatient, "it was rude of you to attack me instead of facing my Berserker, Saber, so I think I'll have him kill you first. Then we'll deal with your troublesome friend. Berserker, be sure to dismember her after cutting off her head."

Hearing her command, Berserker resumes his attack against Saber. Still struggling to stand, she tried to raise her sword against Berserker.

Shirou ran with all his strength to Saber. Perhaps it was because he hadn't been able to do anything to help her up until now. So at the very least, he might be able to do this small thing and protect her for these few seconds...

A sickening sound of torn flesh and meat met his ears as his body was thrown through the air.

Something had sent him careening away and knocked him to the ground... Trying to breath, he soon found out he couldn't. He looked upwards towards his feet. His blood, parts of organs and most of his stomach were now strewn on the asphalt. Oddly... He couldn't feel anything. That must have been the shock setting in.

Several feet away was Saber; her face an expression of complete shock and... sadness? She was saying something to him but his ears couldn't hear her.

He coughed up more blood. He only wanted to knock Saber out of Berserker's attack. He couldn't even do that right... How silly... Instead, he just shielded her body with his own.

As his vision vanished and his consciousness faded, he realized that this was the end for Emiya Shirou. His final thoughts burned in his mind until that faded too. 

Was he really just that useless? Couldn't he even correctly save one person?

"What..." said Ilya barely above a whisper; her eyes wide in amazement.

Berserker, not being given any new orders, returned his focus on his original target and advanced upon Saber's vulnerable form.

Then, a voice pierced the night like a command from God.

[Noir OST - Chloe]  
><span>.comwatch?v=paDe3WDZ2Kg

"Enough! This ends now! INDIGNATION!"

Giant ethereal runes glowed and surrounded Berserker before a single massive thunderbolt struck the great warrior in the center chest. Lightning whirled around the Hero of Greece as if it were a windstorm. The thunderbolt continued to strike the giant before all of its accumulated power finally erupted and Berserker's back exploded in a shower of gore. Dozens of tendrils of lightning arced from his back to the ground. With his entire backside blow open and his organs splattered piece by piece onto the ground, Berserker collapsed onto the ground dead.

"Not even the Greatest Hero of Greece can deny his father's power" taunted the attacker.

The voice came from a hooded figure standing on a nearby roof. Her figure was silhouetted against the moonlight. Wearing a broad black cloak, her hood covered all her facial features except her lower face.

"Ah, so you've finally shown yourself, Caster, " said Ilya before introducing herself. She finished by bowing against her new enemy. Caster stood silently, her gloved hands stayed rested at her sides.

"Your spells are strong, Caster, but you'll need more than that to defeat my Berserker" said Ilya confidently as she did a small pirouette.

Even as she spoke, the blood that had been sprayed all across the street was beginning to reform back towards Berserker's destroyed body. His flesh began to re-knit itself and his organs began to regenerate. Soon, all evidence of the damage from before would disappear. Berserker rose up with a guttural groan; ready to unleash another whirlwind of destruction.

"You are indeed correct. However, Master of Berserker, not even your Servant could stand up against the power of three other Servants" said Caster.

"Three?" replied Ilya in confusion. As if to punctuate Caster's point, Rin and Archer rounded the nearby corner before stopping to witness the carnage in front of them.

It must have been quite the site for them. Both Saber and Shirou were heavily wounded and bleeding on the street. Berserker, his body still smoking and charred from its first death, finished returning to Ilya's side. All around them was destruction. Trees and lampposts were torn in half, cars were destroyed, and sections of the road had gaping holes. The place was a complete battlefield.

Even Saber, blood still oozing from her horrific wounds, stood in an act of defiance again the great Servant. Her stance was clear; if Berserker attacked again she would make sure he paid for it.

Looking at Caster, Ilya made an unhappy face at her before turning away. "I'm bored again, Berserker, take me home" she said before jumping onto Berserker's shoulder, "you're annoying, Caster. The next time we meet, I'll kill you for certain." With those final words, Ilya left the battlefield on her servants shoulder. 

With Berserker and Ilya gone, Caster jumped into the air and floated down in front of Saber and Shirou.

After watching Berserker leave, Saber collapsed back onto her sword. As Caster approached, she tried in vain to prop herself back into a fighting stance. Like a doctor, Caster gently raised her hand in a gentle halting moment.

"Now really, Saber," said Caster in an insulted tone, "if I wanted to kill your Master I would have let Berserker finish him. He's in a bad state right now. Help me help him."

Continuing to walk past the bloody servant, she knelt at Shirou's side. Moving aside one of her dark tresses to see him better, she wiped the perspiration from Shirou's brow. His breath was shallow and his heart rate beat like a jackhammer.

"Stupid fool," said Caster before giving a gentle sigh, "most people only die once a night."

Putting her hand to his bloody stomach she muttered a long incantation and her hand lit up with a light green hue. As she spoke, his body began to regenerate and repair itself. Blood returned to his body and his organs sewed themselves back together. Finishing the incantation, she slouched down towards the ground from obvious fatigue. The wound was far from completely healed. However, with proper treatment, he'd live.

She looked at the blood upon her hands and an image of the past flashed to her mind. The sky was pouring. The ground she was kneeling on was stained with fresh blood. Her victim lay dead on the ground covered in red. Realizing what she had done, she gave off a terrible wail that echoed into the night. As she cried, the night rain mixed with blood and flowed into the nearby gutter; washing away the sins of her crime. She forcibly pushed the nightmare to the back of her mind. That was no longer important. Shaking her head to clear the memories away, she turned her attention back to Shirou.

As if she were a mother treating a wounded child, she carefully wiped the fresh sheen of sweat off his face. Checking over him, she found his pulse and breathing slowing. If Saber had been closer, she might have seen the look of relief on her face.

Caster looked back at Saber and saw her finally standing with her own strength, the bleeding from the wound already beginning to stop. Funny enough, even standing, Saber was barely taller than the kneeling Caster. Staring at her, Saber looked at Caster with barely concealed hostility.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her eyes narrowing at the Servant.

She shrugged. "Does there have to be a reason to help someone in need?" she said dismissively.

Saber continued to look at Caster with cold eyes.

Caster gave a huff. "Fine," she said with resignation, "you might say your Master saved my life at the beginning of this war. I was only naturally returning the favor. Don't expect this service to be infinite."

"Saved your life?" said Saber, tilting her head in interest. Her voice was still cold but her curiosity dimming the fires of her suspicion.

She nodded. "Although, that story will have to be for another time" she said.

Rin and Archer watched impassively as Caster stood back to her feet and faced the duo.

"So what will you do now, Archer's Master" said Caster. She crossed her arm and her mouth twitched in annoyance at facing the two.

Archer stood facing her, his expression was stoic as usual.

"You are another Servant in the Holy Grail War. " responded Rin. Her statement was obvious yet clear. There could only be one winner in this war and Caster was just another opponent.

"Indeed," said Caster, "yet wouldn't you say it would look very bad on the Fuyuki supervisor if she let two innocent people die on her watch." Pointing with her fingerless-gloves, she motioned to the unconscious forms of Shirou and Louise. "If your Archer fights me, both will definitely die before the night ends."

"Oh?," said Rin, her voice like stone," and what makes you think I care? Especially for an enemy Master?"

Caster's lips turned into an evil grin. A grin that would have sent shivers down the spine of even the most hardy of men. "Is that so, Master of Archer?" she said in a mocking tone, "very well, in that case, you won't mind if I remove one of your enemies right now." With a quick flick of her wrist, a ball of crimson fire formed in her right arm. Whirling her cape behind her, she thrust the mass of fire at Shirou's bloody chest.

"Caster!" screamed Saber as she sluggishly brought her invisible sword to bear.

"Stop!" cried Rin.

Caster stopped. The orbs of fire disappeared from her hand. Looking up, she saw Rin with her hand reached out as if to stop her. Though she may have hid it well, Caster saw the fear in the twin-tailed Magus' eyes. That brought a smile to Caster's lips.

She emitted a sinister laugh. "How romantic," she said with amusement, "the little Magus is in love with another Master." Satisfied with Rin's reaction, she deftly jumped into the air before landing on the same building as she had arrived from.

"You stupid Servant, that not it at all!" Rin screamed at her. Veins popped in annoyance as she shook her hand in anger at the cloaked servant.

Rin's outburst, however, only caused Caster to break out into further laughter. "In either case, I'll leave these two in your care then, Master of Archer" she shouted. Waving goodbye to the Master-Servant pair, she leapt from building to building before disappearing into the distance.

As they watched Caster fade into the distance, Archer sighed. "My... you truly are a difficult Master, Rin" he said.

"Archer, shut... up..." 

**Day 4: February 4th**

**- The Third Party -**

Standing on the roof of one of Shinto's high-rise buildings, a shadowy figure stood observing the situation. Dressed in his usual business suit attire, McNab looked through the lenses of his binoculars at the aftermath of the battle.

"Looks like you were right. It appears Tohsaka and Archer will be taking care of the other three for the night. Everything is going as you said, Ojōsan."

"Stop calling me that! I told you to call me Kitsune-kun when I'm talking to you." The drunk girl collapsed onto the leather sofa back at their base. Dropping the phone, she hic'ed several times before finally holding the phone right side up and continuing the conversation.

"Besides, McNaba-kun, they'll be fine. Now stop worrying and come back here," said the intoxicated blond as she slurred her words over the phone, "it's no fun being drunk alone."

"I'm terribly sorry, Ojōsan, but it's my job to worry" He said while completely ignoring her previous order. On the empty streets below, Tohsaka and Archer were taking away the unconscious Shirou and other pink haired Magus.

"Besides," said Mcnab, "my work tonight has only begun. I'll be back in several hours so try to get some restful sleep. Good night"

"Whadaya mean?" she said. However, the line was already dead. She grumbled to herself over his annoying behavior. It was barely the Third day of the war. There wouldn't even be anything to worry about till days later.

Yawning tiredly, she stumbled around the safe house until she ended up in the kitchen. The house was located in the Miyama section of Fuyuki and made a handy base when their business took them out of Shinto proper. Scrounging a sandwich labeled "McNab" from the fridge, she began munching down. Taking a seat at the main table, she looked at the large amount of folders, newspaper clippings and documents arrayed in an organized manner. McNab had helped her into the living room when they entered so she hadn't entered the Kitchen before now.

"Odd," she thought, "I don't recall these being here before."

Plopping the sandwich plate on top of a photo of a flayed corpse, she began reading his recent notes. The notes detailed the recent deaths and unusual events in the city. He had categorized them by people and causes.

The victims of bizarre gas leaks and chemical spills were attributed to the Caster of this war. Oddly, there were no deaths in that category. He had noted the victims had only received minor symptoms like dizziness, heavy nausea and extreme fatigue. Nothing several days of rest wouldn't cure. The most number of names were listed in this category.

Under the "Servants" heading were deaths inflicted by slashing or piercing weapons. Each name was referenced to a photo of a bloodied and slashed corpses. Under this heading were a dozen or so names. Minor in comparison to the other two categories.

Finally, there was a heavy folder for the last category. Its category was "Unknown". She leafed through the files. Dozens of case reports, probably stolen from the Fuyuki police department, of missing individuals in Fuyuki and other nearby prefectures.

She rubbed her frazzled hair in annoyance, "couldn't you have just copied them?" she said to the empty kitchen. She read the names: Hohki Ai, Hotate Yumiko, Ichikawa Misato, Higashikuni Kageyasu, Tsukasa Rkuemon, Kuroi Sadako, Ogata Izumi, Shinozaki Konata, Shiotani Ichi, Ishimura Yakamochi, Itami Senzo, Kuroki Izo... The list continued on.

Each of them were listed as missing or run away. The earliest was dated from last month but there was an increasing amount starting at the beginning of the Holy Grail War. She flipped the page and was met with the gruesome sight of an empty husk. Its skin was dried like paper and its shrunken mouth revealed the victims teeth as if it were a grim smile. Her stomach turned at the sight and she pushed the sandwich aside. On the corpses' neck was a great gouging wounds on the upper neck. The police report mentioned how the victim had had all the blood in their body drained. This jolted her from her drunken stupor. How had she missed something as big as this?

She flipped through the remaining case reports. There were twelve other cases of these vampire-type victims and they were all within the last week. Closing the case files, she looked at the large map of Fuyuki pasted on the wall. There were three different colored pins denoting different murders or events. The ones with vampire victims were all centered in Shinto.

She crumpled her eyebrows in annoyance. "That dumb idiot is going to get himself killed." She thought as she reached for the phone once again.

Author's Notes: And with that ends Chapter 1. Several odd things have occurred in the Holy Grail War but only time will tell how everything will unfold. As before, all constructive comments are welcome and increase my writing rate by 1% ^_^.


	3. Chapter 2: Calm

**Author's Notes:** Hi everyone. Sorry for the bad formatting last time. FF net enjoys messing things up when I transfer from Google Docs to Word to FF net. It's really restrictive and drives me nuts that I have to reformat everything for its system. Bleh. Anyways, I'm terribly sorry about the gigantic delay. I have a myriad of excuses and problems you're probably not interested in.

In the gigantic hiatus, however, I also had a nice temp editor to take a look at and flame my work. What that means is things should flow better and scenes/thoughts should be more fleshed out and less abrupt. Granted, I couldn't do this revision for all parts but you should [I hope ^_^()] find it to be better reading overall now and in the future.

In any event, this is actually half of where I intended to original end the chapter but it sorta grew a life of its own; especially the Sakura scene. As such, I decided to just release half of it rather than waiting to complete the entire "day" if you will.

For those of you that don't know, FSN is located in the Nasuverse. I've taken the time to include a short snippet at the beginning for those of you that haven't read Tsukihime and don't know what Dead Apostles and The Dead are. Although, I would suggest taking a look at that VN or a Lets Play. It's a good VN.

**[ - Break - ]**

**Very Brief Story Reminder from last time:**

Shirou summons Saber. Archer finds out Saber is slightly different from the Saber he knew. Shirou and Saber go to the Church but leave by themselves as Rin has business in Shinto. Walking back home, they hear a scream on the wind and find Illya and Berserker standing over the wounded Louise. Illya is delighted her Onii-chan is there so she doesn't have to search for him. Saber fights Berserker but is critically wounded. Planning to push her out of the way of an attack, Shirou instead takes the blow and finds he is missing important internal organs.

Before Berserker can finish his attack and kill Saber, Caster arrives and with a single spell, kills one of Berserker's lives. Rin and Archer arrive just in time to see the carnage where the battle took place.

Outnumbered 3 to 1, Illya decides to leave, stating "The next time I see you Caster, I'll definitely kill you." After healing Shirou, Caster leaves and Rin is forced to take the wounded Louise and Shirou back to her home for healing.

From atop one of the sky rises, McNab watches them as they leave. ( Character from the Prologue)

**[ - Break - ]**

**Terminology in this Chapter:**

Ojōsan - Respectful address to a young lady. Madam/Ma'am.

Okonomiyaki - Japanese pancake that can contain various ingredients ranging from cheese and shrimp to bacon.

Shinto - The newer business side of Fuyuki. Contains business sky rises and high rise apartments.

Miyama - The older residential side of Fuyuki. Contains mostly one to two story residential houses.

Miyamachou - Suburban area of Fuyuki in Miyama. Includes a small shopping area.

****[ - Break - ]****

**Short introduction to The Dead**

From: GDATAEXPUNGED

To: MDATAEXPUNGED

Subject: Dead Apostles and The Dead

Yo, how're you doing Nab? SDATAEXPUNGED hasn't been driving you too mad on her little errands has she? Anyways, like you wanted, here's an intro on Dead Apostles and their "followers". I know you haven't had that much experience with these folk so I tried to keep it to the point. Just whatever you do, don't let your guard down. Some of these bloody sucking bastards have lived for over a century. You don't live that long while getting hunted by the Burial Agency by being sloppy. Trust me on this, I've seen them in action and they're no slouch. Hell, I remember one time this nice Church lady called Data Expunged had to help me out in a bind. Dunno how she did it but she could throw these things called Data Expunged. They were 'bout as big as a mini-sword. Anyways, any undead or vampire that was impaled by them were immolated and burnt to a crisp. That doesn't even get into the part where she wielded this giant staking weapon one handed. Damn thing could pierce through concrete. Musta weighed at least a tonne. Gotta say that Church has some pretty powerful people on their side.

Anyways, I'm ramblin on. Just remember to watch yourself and good luck. Make sure SDATAEXPUNGED doesn't drive you too mad.

**The Dead**

The Dead are familiars bound to the will of their parent Vampire (also known as Dead Apostles). Having no true will of their own, they move under their master's will and consume the blood and flesh of the living in order to maintain their existence and siphon energy to their Master. Talk about laziness. Anyways, they're most easily identified by looking like a walking corpse. Sometimes they may have illusions around them to hide themselves during the day, although, I doubt you'll be hunting any of these guys while the sun shines. These familiars are what you might consider a classic in supernatural mythology. However, they've actually fallen out of use. You'll mostly encounter them in low numbers of less than several dozen in total. That is unless the vampire has already turned the entire city and the area is overflowing with corpses. Of course, in that case you'll probably be meeting an army of Executors and other Church agents as they proceed to clean and re-decorate the area.

Don't worry though. Vampires prefer to keep themselves hidden and having an army of corpses followin 'em around like that would defeat the purpose. A vampire that reveals itself too much often dies within a short period of time. Most of the time the instant any mention of the Dead is found the Burial Agency sends out Executors to hunt said offending vampire. After that, the jigs up and the vampire either dies or runs to another city.

If you do wind up fighting these undead you shouldn't let your guard down though. These creatures ain't mere corpses. They're kept alive by the power of their vampire and whatever unfortunate humans they get their ruddy hands on. This means they're actually several times stronger than your normal humans and almost as persistent. I've seen Dead break through steel doors as if they were made of plaster and dent a knight's shield with its fingers alone; although in retrospect they probably broke their arms and all their fingers doing that. Anyways, whatever you do, make sure you watch your surroundings and make sure you always have a way out. As long as you have an exit, you can always run away faster than they can chase.

Also, since they're essentially kept alive by "magic" that means their more durable then your regular humans. If you stab 'em a dozen times they'll still keep commin at you. Think of these guys as if they were robots. Heavy trauma to the torso or severing of limbs will net you the good results. However, the most surefire way of keeping 'em down is the destruction of their main body or head (Read: cleave and blow them apart) or the use of the Church's conceptual armaments (Read: Holy weapons).

The Dead actually have an interesting history. Many people in the Church believe...

...

...

...

**[ - Break - ]**

**Day 4: February 4th**

**- Complications -**

_[Halo: ODST OST - Rain]_ .com/watch?v=NQEuBneFi3g

The streets of Fuyuki were deathly empty. There were very few people on the streets of Shinto once the sun went down. The recent grisly murders had everyone sealed in their homes early. Even the Fuyuki police only headed out on patrol in pairs now.

That suited McNab just fine.

The Fuyuki night was cold. As he walked down the deserted streets of Shinto, he could see the vapor trails his breath made and felt the chill of winter through his business attire. He stopped at the entrance to an alleyway before taking a look around. He wasn't sure why he bothered; he'd been the only living thing on the streets of the city for the past hour. He chalked it up to habit.

The odds of any witnesses in the area were slim even before the string of murders had occurred.

Walking into the alley, he spotted the man he'd been tailing for the last few minutes. The man stood silently beside a dumpster; seemingly drunk as he stood listlessly and teetered back and forth. Walking with care towards his target, he gently fingered the sidearm within his suit.

"Excuse me, I don't suppose you have a light?" McNab asked.

Turning around, The man reveal his deathly white complexion and lifeless eyes; most likely due to the gouging wounds in his torso and the hole in his neck. Bloodshot eyes and taut dry skin completed the morbid visage. Emitting a raspy noise from its throat, it recognized a new source of blood for its master. With its unseeing red eyes focused on its new target, the Dead charged.

Gunfire lit up the alley as McNab pulled back the trigger on his sidearm. The bullet penetrated through the corpses' skull; brain matter trailing in its wake. The Dead, not noticing or caring about the wound through its head, simply continued barreling at him. This time, McNab aimed at the torso and pulled back on the trigger until he ran empty. Each bullet slammed into its chest causing it to recoil backwards; it's body jumping to the tune of some unseen puppeteer as it spasmed back and forth.

The Dead, now with several biologically redundant bullet holes through its body, collapsed back down onto the ground. Wordlessly, McNab reloaded a new magazine into his pistol and then gave a sigh of relief.

Feeling his phone vibrate, McNab grabbed the wireless earpiece and placed it in his ear.

"Hello Ojōsan..." He stopped talking as she yelled through the speaker. Her voice fluctuated from anger, to worry and then back to anger.

"Look, I know you're mad I didn't tell you about this but there was no concrete evidence that a vampire was even..." Once again, he was interrupted by the voice that came across the line. On the ground, the Dead business man emitted another strangled gasp as it began to rise again despite the twelve holes in its chest.

"Hold on, Ojōsan" said McNab. Taking careful aim with his pistol, he unloaded three more rounds into its head. Looking more like hamburger meat than an unliving creature, it collapsed back to the ground. Still aiming down the sights, he counted his heartbeats and waited for any movement.

The body lay still.

He exhaled the breath he'd been holding. Kneeling down, he placed the barrel of the gun on its chest just in case. He was relatively sure the thing would be staying dead from now on but he'd experienced too many horror movies to let his guard down now. Fishing through his suit pocket he withdrew a wooden stirring rod, the ones you'd find in a coffee shop or cafe, and used it to prod inside one of the bullet wounds.

It was dry, just like the other Dead he'd hunted down.

The Dead were drained of blood before they became the familiars of a Dead Apostle. If the corpse was dry then the Dead Apostle wasn't feeding. Hopefully the damn vampire would eventually get the message and *fly* off out of Fuyuki.

As he stood up, the corpse began to deteriorate. A macabre scene unfolded in front of him. Freed from its master's magic, the corpse began to breakdown and disappear. Skin slowly dried and peeled away into the air while bone and organs liquefied. The eyes melted into their sockets and its teeth began to stain brown before falling into empty chasm of its mouth. It was as if the corpse was rotting and decaying in seconds instead of months.

Pulling out a hip flask his suit pocket, McNab drank the rather sweet contents of the milk tea inside. He'd have to remember to get a bigger one next time; this one was slightly small.

The body continued to rapidly dry before even the bones finally vaporized into a pile of dust. Eventually, even that too was blown away by an unfelt wind until all that was left were clothes.

"Sorry about that, Ojōsan. I had to finish dealing with someone. Where were we?" he said.

_Taking another swig from his flask, he walked out of the alley and returned to the yellow streetlights of Shinto. Looking around he noted the streets were still e__mpty. He continued strolling down the streets looking for other walking corpses that might be active tonight. It was kind of unsettling, really. It was only one hour past midnight and the city was already a graveyard. He revised that statement in his head... it was worse. In a graveyard you didn't expect there to be anyone alive. He'd been walking these lonely streets for over an hour and that single Dead had been the only thing that was alive... well, at least moving... that he'd seen. In Paris, New York, or Hamburg there was always night life. Something to tell you that there was something more than just the shadows to keep you company._

The weary yellow of the streetlights lit his way as he continued walking the empty streets of Shinto; the sound of his footsteps echoing off the building walls.. That... and an angry drunken friend on the other end of the line. He kept his eyes sharp on the corners and shadows while she went on about the dangers of patrolling alone. He had the heart to not mention to her the difficulties of patrolling the streets of Fuyuki when you couldn't even stand up straight.

After a while, the voice on the other end had seemingly calmed down. "Alright, I admit, I probably should have told you sooner but no harm done right? Besides, it's only The Dead. Unless they reach a large number, they're nothing to worry about."

As he continued walking, the lights around him went out. Slowing his walk he stopped in the middle of the street. Glancing instinctively at the sky for any airborne attacks, he drew his sidearm once more. Past the blowing of the light wind came a chilling sound. At first he thought it sounded like chains banging against one another but as the sound multiplied it changed. He could only compare it to a horde of cicadas; a thousand voices that turned into a single giant roar.

He took a pair of sunglasses from his suit and donned them causing his view to be filled with slight static as the low-light vision from the glasses activated.

_[Fate/Stay Night OST - Nightmare] _.com/watch?v=D1c1UXyYiTI

The Dead filled his view. There were almost a hundred of them as they poured from alleyways and adjacent streets. With worrying speed, they began to close the distance between them and their victim. Behind him, more Dead began to emerge to cut off his exit. At least he knew what response the Dead Apostle had chosen between fight and flight.

"Let the good times roll," he muttered into the wind. That elicited a confused response over his earpiece.

"I'm sorry, Ojōsan. I'm going to be coming back late. Looks like I'm going to have to entertain a lot of guests" he said. Her worried voice sounded over the earpiece in response once more.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious to worry about" he said. He gave a sardonic grin that she couldn't see. "Anyways, I better get going, the crowds are getting restless." He was rather glad that he immediately took off the earpiece a moment later.

"CROWDS!" she shouted. Her cry was loud enough to hear despite the earpiece already being attached to his hip. He turned his phone off and cut the connection.

The crowd of Dead was still growing, easily reaching over a hundred in number now. There was something odd about this situation that nagged at the back of his brain, but he filed that to the back of his brain for later.

Right now the vast majority of the swarm was concentrated at the front with only several dozen or so behind him. However, at the rate they were flowing from the darkened alleys and shadowy roads that would soon change.

He ran straight at the less densely packed crowd of Dead behind him. He theorized that if could just make it past the initial crowd he'd be fine. After that it'd be a straight run back to the car. Nothing to be worried about; he'd faced worse situation in the past.

"Well... one thing at a time, I suppose" thought McNab.

He fired his sidearm as he ran, static flashing in his view as the glasses compensated for the sudden contrast in lighting. Firing another trio of round at a nearby encroaching Dead, he jumped onto the hood of a parked truck. Using the top of the vehicle like a ramp, he jumped high into the air and over the head of several of the Dead that had been waiting for him. They gave angry gasps as their prey flew past their fingers. In one smooth motion he landed, used his momentum to roll on the ground and propelled himself back on his feet; missing an attack by a nearby Dead by scant inches. He looked for the edge of the swarm of Dead.

Over two dozen meters to go.

He emptied a clip into several closing bodies as he ran. The bullets staggered them but failed to put them down. That was fine. He didn't plan on killing them all anyways.

By now the Dead had almost closed within arm's length. For that reason he was rather happy he'd forgotten to wear a tie today. Fights at distances where you could smell your opponent's odour did not mix well with cocktail dresses or business suits.

At least he wasn't wearing high heels.

In front of him was what may have been an attractive woman in her thirties if she wasn't trying to eat his throat. He gave her a swift kick for the trouble and was rewarded with the sound of her sternum breaking. He put two rounds into her torso for good measure just before leaping over her body.

Time slowed for him and he surveyed the scene in front of him. He was scant meters from breaking past their lines. He could have crawled that distance. Unfortunately, in front of him was a full line of those damned corpses. A man in his late fifties wearing a blood stained dress shirt. A brunette wearing a white sweater with blue eyes. Another man with long messy hair missing a section of his neck. A plethora of faces. Each of their eyes vacant and distant. Each one looking to consume his body for whatever damned Dead Apostle they served. The first real inklings of fear began to form in his mind. Suddenly, a bad idea formed in his mind.

"Well... I've had worse," he thought.

He charging forward with a desperate roar. Firing his pistol at whatever Dead came near, he screamed and rammed his way through the lines of the Dead. Plowing past several bodies, he tackled the first corpse directly in his way with enough force to lift it into the air. Using the body as a shield, he bull-rushed past the ranks of the Dead. He could feel pain flare across his body as they battered and beat the sides of his body. It was at this time he appreciated the extra effort he had taken to procure a Kevlar lined suit. With one last push, he broke through into the empty streets beyond.

Dropping the unfortunate corpse, he stumbled but kept on running. His breathing was ragged as he continued staggering away from the converging horde. He grabbed his chest, each breathe caused a flare of dull pain as he could feel the places where the Dead had struck him. For the first time this night he was beginning to have doubts about coming alone on this patrol.

The mass of shuffling corpses followed behind him; their unintelligible cries and guttural moans like a haunting ghost. Once again, that odd feeling returned to the forefront of his mind. Fuyuki city wasn't some sort of remote village in Europe. It was a bustling urban cityscape with hundreds of thousands of people living within its boundaries. If a Dead Apostle really had killed hundreds of people within Fuyuki then the Church would have had Executors swarming the city.

_[Fate/Stay Night OST - Wandering Shadow] _.com/watch?v=s-CyOBkm9tU

Running for what felt like forever, he turned a corner and his heart sank. Between him and his car were dozens of the Dead. Noticing his presence, they collectively began to march towards him before halting as if colliding with a brick wall. Behind him, the pursuing Dead stopped in their tracks as well. They stood at the ready like automatons that had been shutdown. Even their characteristic deathly moans had disappeared; his muffled breathing and heartbeat were the loudest things he could hear. Slowly and deliberately, McNab reached towards his hip and carefully reloaded his sidearm.

Through the night air, he began to hear the sound of giggling. The voice grew like a crescendo and seemed to echo and then resound off the tall glass skyscrapers that rose high above him. His senses came alert as he tried to pinpoint the origins of the noise. Careful to keep his eyes between the two swarm of Dead, he swept the surrounding area with his gun.

"Look what I've caught in my trap," came a young voice that echoed through the streets, "all stuck in my web like a bug stuck in my threads."

Above him, balancing on a streetlight, stood a young girl. She wore a school uniform though not of the local schools dress code; a pure white shirt with matching black skirt. Her black hair flowed down easily past her shoulder blades. By his estimate, she looked as if she were a year or so older than the twin-tailed Magus Tohsaka. This, however, told him absolutely nothing. If there was one thing that all his years of work had taught him, it was that nothing was ever what it appeared to be. What did catch his attention, however, were her eyes. Her crimson red eyes.

Damn vampires...

The young girl continued to sing along to the fairy tale song she must have made herself. Vampires really had way too much time on their hands.

"So a Dead Apostle that likes to play dressup as a school girl with the attitude of an adolescent brat. Why do I always get the interesting ones," thought McNab. He rubbed his brow in a show of annoyance.

The girl stopped her annoying sing song at his reaction.

"Really? This is what you're going to go with?" said McNab with barely concealed sarcasm, "come on, drop the act. You ain't foolin anyone here."

"What?" said the girl slowly; her face a look of confusion. Out of all the reactions she had expected, clearly this was not one she had planned for.

"I'm going to guess you're around eighty to ninety right now. Most vampires don't gather this much power without being at least that old. From your clothes, I'd guess you really like the little school girl motif... Classy... Really classy... Though a little creepy given your age."

The girl narrowed her eyes at McNab as if she could burn him away just by her glare. If he looked closer, he might have seen a vein pop on her head.

"That must be a Vampire thing though," he said with a shrug, "I guess you're only as young as you.."

"Shut up! Shut up you miserable piece of meat!" she screeched in her childish like voice. He could detect anger and outrage in her voice; exactly what he wanted.

"Now that's just plain rude. Surely a little girl like you would know better than to interrupt someone while they're talking," he replied casually.

"Why you annoying little..." a single gunshot stopped her words. Moving with nearly Servant level speed, she twisted her body away as the .40 S&W bullet just barely grazed her cheek as it went by.

On the ground, McNab held the smoking gun from his hand. In the blink of an eye he had aimed and fired the gun in one motion.

"How d..." her words were cut off again as McNab fire another round towards her and she had to dodge once again.

Landing on another lamppost she looked down felt the blood from the bullet that had grazed her arm.

"Kill him!" She screamed. He fired another shot but this time she was ready. Jumping from the post, she disappeared into the shadows of the night.

He sighed. He had hoped to catch her off guard while she was mad and monologuing. Hopefully he'd be able to put her down before she could get away. Damn shame... I guess you can't win them all.

The Dead resumed their march towards him; their ceaseless moans returning to echo through the night.

"Wonderful," he said with a tired sigh. Maybe he could do an encore performance of before; though he never did like performing for such large crowds.

He had 21 rounds left; 1 magazine and 9 bullets remaining. Aiming down the iron sights, he fired off nine precise shots. Almost comically, five Dead collapsed onto the ground, their kneecaps now shattered bone and cartilage. Reaching for his last magazine, he heard something above the din of moans and guttural calls. Something closer to the sound of a roaring engine.

_[End BGM]_

A pair of headlights fishtailed in the distance before rather unceremoniously ramming past several inattentive undead. The car stopped scant meters before him. In front of him was a rather expensive pure white convertible. Sleek and classy... minus the dented front.

"Agent Sable, this is a pleasant surprise," he said to the blonde driver while reloading his sidearm.

"Get in," she said coldly. Her cold voice and angry eyes belied the cheerful demeanor she had previously. McNab vaulted into the passenger's seat before Sable shifted the car's gears and sped away. On their way out they proceeded to crush the same unfortunate Dead under their tires.

Sable gave him a stare that would have melted steel. "Was this your plan? Hang up on me so I could find your corpse in the morning?" she yelled towards him, her long hair flying in the wind.

"Quite frankly, Ojōsan, I had it under control" he said.

"Under control?" she said exasperated, "being surrounded and about to be eaten by the Dead is under control?"

"Maybe," he said rather quietly under his breath.

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath.

The car swerved as Sable took another sharp turn; its tires screeching in protest. McNab held on with all his strength as the car nearly tipped over from the acute angle. The dull thump of tires meeting asphalt once more did little to soothe his nerves. Streetlights whipped by at high speeds as they drove away. A sudden thought jumped to the forefront of his mind.

"Wait, aren't you still drunk?" he asked.

"Maybe," answered the driving blonde cheerfully. She gave a perky smile towards him that scared him more than the Dead they had just left behind. He put on the seat-belt and unconsciously gripped the car harder.

Sable made another sharp turn, her hands a flurry of motion as she switched gears while holding the wheel. More prepared this time, McNab was able to hold on and prevent himself from accidentally head butting Sable in the face from the whiplash. Although with this wild driving he still felt like doing so. Drifting from the turn onto the main street of Shinto, he could see the buildings fly by as Sable sped up the car.

"Ojōsan, can we please slow down?" asked McNab in a rather nervous tone.

"But why?" she said with a slight whine, "there's a perfectly flat stretch of road there." She gestured to the completely empty and straight road ahead of them.

Before he could respond with a "because I don't want to die" response, the car rocked as something fell into the back. He estimated the odds of something harmless suddenly landing in the backseat at a time like this. Not likely...

Acting on instinct, he hurled his body forward as close as it could to the dashboard and heard the sound of tearing fabric and breaking plastic behind him. Looking back, the petite vampire from before was crouched on the seats in the back; her hands in the shape of razor sharp claws. Claws that had shredded the headrest quicker than grapeshot against conscripts. All that was left of his headrest were bits of fluff and foam. That could have been his head...

"Sable!" yelled McNab. He reached for his holstered sidearm but Sable was faster. Casually glancing at the rear-view mirror, she slammed down on the breaks. Already trying to move towards the front of the card, the girl was caught off guard when physics took hold. He thought he could make out the slightest sound of an *eep* as the vampire was sent hurling through the front windshield. Before the girl had even hit the ground, Sable accelerated and was rewarded with two bumps in the car's suspension.

With a sigh of relief, he looked behind them. On the ground, the girl tried to raise herself back up using her only working arm. The only indication she had just been crushed with over a thousand kilograms of steel and iron was her left arm which hung limply by side and the burning stare within her crimson eyes. Behind her, countless undead swarmed around protect their master. Barely able to keep herself up, he could see her hateful glare starring at them even as she disappeared into the distance.

Several kilometers later, they finally stopped the car at the edge of Fuyuki bridge. It might have been the third time she smacked him in the arm while driving and called him an idiot that she noticed him wincing in pain longer than he should have. Stopping the car, Sable finally took a look at his wounds. It was at that time that Sable realized he had multiple contusions and two cracked ribs.

"Hold still," said Sable.

"Ack!" said McNab

"Look, if you don't hold still it'll only hurt more."

"Damnit, cant we do this at the safe-house? It's too cramped and cold in here."

"Oh quit your whining already and take off your shirt."

"What! Hey n.. now just wait... Gah..."

"See? Now doesn't that feel better?" she asked.

A warm sensation spread from where Sable touched him. He could feel his cracked ribs slowly setting back into proper place. The pain ebbed away slowly until all he could feel were Sable's hands on his body. "Does it hurt anywhere else, McNaba-kun?" asked Sable calmly. She stared innocently upwards at him, her eyes almost level with his chin.

He could feel her soft warm hands on his body. This close to his body, he could feel her warm breath gently tickle his skin on this cold winter night... Her face was close eno...

"Keep professional... Keep focused," he thought, "She's already taken. So keep. It. Professional..." He pulled away from Sable abruptly, much to her surprise.

After an awkward moment where they both stared at each other, he said, "A... anyways, thank you for the help back there. I'll admit I may have been in some trouble back there." In an attempt to keep face, he started straightening his suit.

She gave a mischievous chuckle at his odd reaction.

"This is why I like you McNab. You're always so amusing to have around," she said with a sly grin. Failing to find a snappy line to throw back at her, he simply gave her an annoyed glance.

"Why can I stand Vampires, Demons, and Eldricht abominations but not her," he thought with annoyance. He forced himself to relax the fist he had unintentionally been tightening.

Taking a long breath, McNab slumped into the leather seat of the car. Grumbling slightly at the lack of a headrest, he adjusted the seat downward and used the shoulder cushions as an impromptu pillow. Sighing with fatigue, he collapsed into the chair and closed his eyes. "You know... with that vampire staying here this entire war just got much more complicated."

"Mmhmm" agreed Sable. Reaching over towards the glove compartment, she pulled out the half eaten sandwich she had been chewing on previously. Like a kid eating a large bar of chocolate, she bit into the sandwich with a satisfied expression; happily munching into the Rye bread. Unfortunately, in her mad bid to inhale the tasty meal she inadvertently let a dollop of mayonnaise and mustard splatter on to her black pants. Her mouth sealed shut with Gouda and Pastrami, she made a series of "mumphs" and other anguished noises as she searched for something to clean her pants in the car; her one free hand flailing wildly in frustration. From the sounds she was making, McNab guessed she was failing.

Not bothering to open his eyes, he took out a napkin from his suit and handed it to her which she took with an affirmative-pitched, "mmhmm!"

Deciding to crack open half an eye, McNab rotated his head and looked at her with an accusing look, "isn't that mine?"

Halting in mid bite, Sable innocently stared back and forth between her meal and McNab. Finally making a decision, she held the sandwich towards McNab. The fact that in the span of several moments she had demolished almost all of the sandwich most likely hadn't occurred to her.

Rolling his eyes in disbelief, he pushed the meal away and leaned back once more into the seat. Shrugging her shoulders, she rapidly consumed the dwindling sandwich. Finishing the meal with glee, she opened and then leaned on the car door to enjoy the cool night breeze. They both stared at the darkened Shinto skyline in silence; wondering what the future days in this city would hold.

"Ojōsan, I have a question," said McNab, "where did you get this car?"

"..."

**[ - Break - ]**

**Day 4: February 4th**

**- Jasmine with Serenity -**

Crouching atop one of the higher trees near the Tohsaka residence, Archer observed the situation in spirit form. First there was that pink haired Magus, then an odd Saber and different Caster were summoned. Looking into Shinto, it looked like now there was most likely a Dead Apostle in Shinto. He gave a mental sigh. Truly, this must have been Alaya's bizarre attempt at humor.

After Caster left the battlefield, Rin had ordered him to take Shirou and the other Magus back to her home. True to Caster's predictions, Rin had decided to help Shirou rather than chase after her. When they had arrived, however, Shirou's wounds were almost healed. Unfortunately, the other Magus was not so lucky.

Examining her wounds he immediately understood she was in bad shape. Her right leg had been shattered and bent in two different places. Along with that were the numerous contusions on her back. If the damage that had been near her was any indication, she had been thrown hard enough into the side of one of the buildings to break the wall tiling. This wasn't even counting her two broken ribs.

Upon hearing the damage, Rin had briefly turned pale before immediately setting to work. Having already set the leg and done what he could with his skills, he left Rin alone to let her concentrate.

He continued to observe Fuyuki bridge as the pair finally began to drive back into Miyama. As their car finally disappeared from view, Archer wondered who they might be. They didn't look like any members of the Church or the Mages Association. Magi normally never used guns and Church Executors normally wielded holy Conceptual Weapons and wore clothes laden with cross insignia and holy paraphernalia. These two fit neither profile and he made a mental note to keep an eye on these two.

In any case, he'd have to inform Rin of this new turn of events. A Dead Apostle sulking in the shadows while the Holy Grail War was going on could only mean trouble.

_[Toradora! OST - Yasashi sa no Ashioto] _.com/watch?v=EAEnw0d-Cv0

"Archer, could you come back here?" came Rin's mental order.

Floating through the walls in spirit form, he materialized into the main living room. Rin was kneeling hunched over the prone form of the pink-haired Magus he had gently lain on the floor.

Surprisingly, he found Saber kneeling across from Rin. Though she still wore her armor, she had removed her two gauntlets for better control. In her hand was a damp cloth and she was gently wiping the sweat from Rin's brow as Rin continued healing the hurt Magus. This continued for several moments as Rin healed the pink haired Magus while Saber assisted Rin in any way she could. Not wanting to interrupt their silent team dynamic, Archer kept silent. After all, he might be able to call upon thousands of Noble Phantasms but when it came to healing broken bones and internal bleeding Rin would be the better magical healer.

He glanced at his former unconscious self sitting in one of the chairs. When they had come in, Shirou's shirt had been soaked through with blood and he had to dispose of it. Right now, his chest was wrapped in bandages, even though he no longer had any wounds to heal. However, he was still shirtless and the night was beginning to get cold. With the other two indisposed, he decided to make himself useful and brought out a blanket. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed his former self alive right now.

Despite himself he gave Shirou a spiteful glare even though he wasn't awake. Even when the boy was unconscious he still felt a simmer of hatred bubble forth. "Idealistic fool," he muttered to himself before wrapping Shirou in the warm blanket.

Looking back up at Rin and Saber, he noticed they still busy "Rin will be especially tired after everything today," thought Archer, "I'm sure she'll want some good tea after she's done." Being as quiet as he could, Archer headed into the kitchen. He placed the kettle on the stove before heading straight for the left most cupboard for the tea leaves. He decided to take out a certain ornate metal box; the one that held Rin's exotic Chinese leaves.

"This'll make her feel better," he thought. The fact that he knew she liked it also helped.

In the main room, Rin finally gave out a loud sigh. Collapsing onto her hands she knelt with fatigue for several moments.

"It's finished. She should be fine now," Rin announced. She stayed kneeling there teetering for a moment before toppling to her side.

"Rin!" Archer and Saber exclaimed.

Moving swiftly, Archer caught her before she fell. He helped to lift her up to her feet.

"Sorry for making you wait, Archer. It took longer than I expected," muttered Rin. She was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Rin, you should probably get some sleep," he said.

Lifting her as if she were no heavier than a large cushion, he began to take her towards the stairs.

"No... I'm fine, Archer... Just... make me some tea" she said. She forced him to plop herself down onto one of the nearby seats. The accuracy of his prediction made him hide a grin.

Returning to the kitchen, he finished pouring the hot water into the China set and let the tea steep. Taking a peek out into the main room, he saw Rin soundly sleeping away on the white couch; her head tilted at an angle onto her shoulder. She hadn't even had the energy to lie down.

He gave a slight sigh.

"Such a troublesome Master. You'll wake up with a strained neck that way, Rin" he thought.

He lowered his sleeping Master into a more comfortable position. Taking a comforter from one of the side rooms, he wrapped her in the warm blanket. He brushed some of the stray strands of hair from her peaceful face and admired her sleeping form. She was just as he remembered; too proud, stubborn, and headstrong for her own good. However, that didn't stop her from being the good and kind hearted person she was. Her greatest flaws were also what made him remember her most fondly. Taking his eyes from Rin, he returned to the original issue at hand; the freshly brewed tea still in the kitchen.

"Hmm, with Rin already asleep, it'd be a horrible sin to let such nice tea go to waste..." he thought to himself.

"Saber," said Archer "would you like some tea?"

"Thank you, Archer. I would like some." she replied with her usual dignified tone.

Taking the tea from the kitchen, he gently placed the fine china onto the table. With refined and precise movements, he carefully poured both of them a cup. He waited and observed as Saber took a quick sip of the exotic tea. Her face turned into one of surprise and her olive green eyes turned towards Archer.

"It is quite good" she said with a light nod.

"Thank you" he replied with a satisfied smile. That made two out of two people that enjoyed his tea.

Silence returned to the room as the two Servants drank from their china wordlessly; Saber sat next to Shirou in a kneeling Seiza form while Archer lounged comfortably on one of Rins ornate chairs. Finishing his initial cup, he saw Saber staring absent-mindedly at her cooling tea; her eyes looking deep within the orange tea's reflection.

"Is something wrong with the tea, Saber?" asked Archer.

"Hmm? Not at all. The tea is wonderful," she said as she lightly shook her head, "it is simply that..." Saber paused and looked far into the distance outside the window. Her face showed her mind deep in thought; taking care to choose her words carefully.

"We might be enemies tomorrow, Archer, but this peaceful serenity we hold right now..." She paused as she took a small sip of tea.

"I will definitely miss it."

The room grew still as her odd words seemingly brought a peaceful lull after them. Outwardly, Archer simply continued to gently sip away at his tea. In his mind, however, his mind churned over her words. It was a rather odd thing for the King of Knights to say. He'd never known Saber to be quite so... sentimental. Making a mental note, he carefully stored these thoughts into his mind for later.

Finally breaking the silence, Archer spoke. "My, that was quite poetic there, Saber." said Archer in a slightly mocking tone.

"Archer, you...!" exclaimed Saber. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she turned her face towards Archer. Her anger was tempered, however, when she saw Archer with the warm friendly grin on his face. She smothered her annoyance in an attempt to avoid Archer's playful attempt at goading her. Exhaling a slight sigh, she returned to her normal controlled demeanor.

Archer sipped his tea, "although, there's no problem with a warrior also being a poet."

Giving his words some thought, she nodded in agreement. "Yes, I suppose that is true," she replied before relaxing back into her sitting stance.

A slight murmur caught both Servant's attention causing them to turn towards the pink haired Magus. Looking at her, the young Magus seemed troubled. She had curled up like a shrimp on the couch and was lightly tossing back and forth in her sleep.

Archer mentally berated himself. He'd completely forgotten about the most vulnerable person in the room. Quietly walking over, he checked her condition. Prana flowed through his circuits and he used his abilities as a Magus to analyze the damage still within her body.

His eyes opened in surprise when he found none. It was truly a credit to Rin's Magecraft that the girl was completely healed. Even after everything that had happened today, she was still able to completely heal the girl's horrible wounds. No wonder why she had passed out on the couch.

Despite her improved condition, though, she was still cringing from the night cold. Having already brought blankets for Rin and Shirou, he figured he might as well get another for their last guest.

Finding one in a closet, he returned to the main room and placed it across the girl's small form and she instinctively relaxed at the new warmth. He finished off by tucking in the edges and turned to leave but two soft warm hands grabbed his arm. Looking back, he saw the girl was still soundly asleep but had latched onto his arm as if it were a lion plushie. He gave several light tugs but the sleeping girl simply held on tighter each time.

"S... ou" muttered the girl in her sleep. The pinkette snuggled further into his arm.

Despite his attempts at getting freeing, the pink haired Magus was still firmly attached to his arm. Unsure of what to do, he gave a quick glance at Saber for guidance. Unfortunately for him, she had closed her eyes and was too busy enjoying the taste of her tea; although, he swore she was hiding a broad smile behind that teacup.

He gave a resigned sigh before sitting down in defeat. The small Magus seemed to calm down after using his hand as a pillow for a few moments. He supposed he could comfort her for the night. After all, she had been through a huge ordeal. Looking at her, the girl was sleeping with such a sense of tranquility on her face now. It'd be a crime to disrupt a peaceful moment such as this.

The sound of light clinking china alerted his attention back to Saber. She had thoughtfully moved his cup closer to his new sitting position and, with graceful movements, began pouring him a new cup of tea. He nodded with appreciation and took the cup.

With hot tea to accompany them during the night, Archer and Saber both sat in silence as they kept watch over the three Magi; ever vigilante yet enjoying the quiet serenity of the night.

_[End BGM]_

_**[ - Break - ]**_

**Day 4: February 4th**

**- What is Burned In -**

Shirou coughed as the scalding hot air burned his lungs. He hobbled down the smoke-ridden streets looking for any help. In this excruciating heat, his arms and legs felt weighed down like wooden logs. Not even the hottest summer in Japan could measure up to this heat. It was like standing over a gigantic bonfire; a scorching pain that seared your skin yet you couldn't escape.

It seemed as if the entire city had been hit by the fire. All around him were the burnt out husks of buildings. The sky was painted shades of red and orange as fire raged out of control across the landscape.

The sound of cracking and splintering wood from a nearby house caught his attention. Looking at the house, it was an old brick building that held up against the fire; only the second floor seemed to have been destroyed. Perhaps someone was still alive there. Dried grass crunched under his feet as he slowly moved towards the building. Looking through a window he saw what he thought might have been a living room. On the floor unmoving was a child; he couldn't be much older than he was. Over him was a man with a cloth wrapped around his mouth as he lifted the child with utmost care. Perhaps it was the father?

Over the sound of crackling fire, Shirou could heard the wood giving way. The man must have heard it was well as he quickened his pace and made his way towards the door. They wouldn't make it. Even as the man ran, Shirou saw the avalanche of wood, brick and mortar falling towards them. At the last moment, the man saw him looking through the window. For that one moment, he saw the fear and despair in his wide eyes.

Shirou reached out with his arm as if his will alone could save them. He wished with all his might that he could save them; but it was not to be.

In less than a heartbeat, they were gone, buried underneath the rubble. Like a chain reaction, the rest of the brick house crumbled in upon itself and he stumbled backwards to avoid the rain of debris. Running as fast as he could, he saw the pile of rubble finally come to a rest; a giant tombstone to the two people inside. He wanted to cry for them but he was too tired even for that. The unrelenting heat stole even that small mercy from him. He stared for long moments at the spot where the father and son had been.

There was nothing here now; only the dead. With what little strength he had in him, he forced himself to keep walking.

It was the same dream again; the fire from ten years ago. In it he walked and he ran as he always did but the outcome was the same. Nothing ever changed. Death and destruction surrounded him no matter where he went. He continued onward but he knew there was no end to this hellfire. Even though it was a dream he could never find the end to the fire and death around him.

In the distance, he could hear someone crying...

**[ - Break - ]**

**- Rise and Shine, Emiya-san. Rise and Shine -**

Shirou slowly opened his eyes, the fragments of his dream fading like frost in the summer sun. He coughed as if to expel the smoke and ash from his lungs; still shaking the image of his dream away. Immediately, dull pain swelled across his abdomen with each cough and he grimaced. Looking down, he saw bandages across his chest and stomach.

"Ugh, what happened yesterday?" he said to himself.

Two things immediately registered in his mind. First, the light floral patterns on the roof indicated that he was definitely not back home. Secondly, the two feminine voices yelling at him meant he'd probably done something bad.

"That should be the question I'm ask you, Shirou," said Saber sternly.

"Idiot! You almost died, Shirou, that's what happened," yelled Rin.

Beside him were Saber and Rin who were both staring at him with irritation in their eyes. A chill went up the back of his spine that spread to the front of his naked chest...

Wait... Naked?

"Gah! Where'd my shirt go?" said Shirou as he reached for the blanket that had been covering his bandaged torso. He also noticed his regular blue jeans were splattered with blood; most likely his own. Giving a slight sigh, Rin picked up a bundle of clothes and handed them to him before looking away.

"Here, Archer retrieved them from your home. The washroom is down the hall," said Rin with a look of annoyance as she diverted her eyes.

Almost comically, Shirou grabbed the clothes and rushed towards the washroom. Stumbling through the door, he locked it behind him with a click. With a door finally between him the girls outside, he breathed a sigh of relief and then felt the pain return in full force. He could feel nausea rising from his stomach and he stumbled onto the porcelain sink. With heavy breathes, he fought back against the pain in his chest and the bile within his throat. That was good though; the pain reminded him he was alive. After a moment, he could feel the pain and nausea eventually fade away and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Searching his memory, scenes from yesterday flashed through his mind and he remembered what happened. He had tried to protect Saber by pushing her out of the way but instead he'd only taken the blow head on. Gingerly, he gently touched his bandaged abdomen as if to make sure it was still there. It felt slightly sore but he supposed that was better than having nothing there at all.

Rewinding his thoughts, the reason he met Illya there was... The scream. And that girl!

Splashing water onto his face, he quickly got dressed and went out. Walking through the hall, he suddenly noticed the warm sunlight streaming through the old curtained windows. Stepping back into the main room, he could see both Rin and Saber sitting calmly waiting for him while drinking tea. On a central wooden coffee table lay a tray with an assortment of biscuits and fruit pastries as well as an ornate tea pot; hot steam still rising from the mouth.

As he headed towards his seat, he couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between his home and Tohsakas. While his house had been built to model a traditional Japanese home with tatamani floors and thin shoji room dividers, Tohsaka's house looked closer to one you would find in Victorian London. Ornate wooden furniture adorned each room with slightly floral wallpaper design. There even had an old grandfather clock in the corner.

Oddly, Archer wasn't here; though he supposed the red Servant was simply hovering behind Rin in spirit form.

"Emiya-kun, I assume from your ability to run that you're feel all better now?" asked Rin as she calmly took a sip of her tea.

"Yea," replied Shirou. He decided to keep the sudden pain and nausea a secret. There wasn't a need to worry them with that. He returned his focus to the girl, "What happened to the wounded girl from last night? The one that was hurt by Berserker? Is she alright?."

"Ah, yes, the girl," said Rin as she put down her tea, "she's resting in my room currently. I was able to heal her completely last night so she should be fine. Hopefully she should be better and on her way before the end of the day. But I suppose we'll have to wait and see."

"I see..." said Shirou, the sound of her screams still played in his mind. "Thank you, Tohsaka. I doubt I would have been able to help her much myself."

She gave a tired sigh as her eyes looked straight into him, "I didn't think you'd understand."

"Listen to me," said Rin as her tone went serious, "you're acting as if we're friends. I told you yesterday but it seems like it didn't stick into your head." Rin paused and stood up for effect.

"We. are. enemies." She said by emphasizing each word, "You don't thank your enemy. You're still acting as if this was nothing but a game. Don't you understand? The enemy Master is just another obstacle to be removed; even if they were your own family. If you refuse to take this war seriously then you will die!" she said, shouting at the end.

He could see the anger mixing with her cold Magus demeanor. Of course it was natural for her to be mad. She had probably been trained for years to be the heir to the Tohsaka family. For an amateur to be chosen as a Master and only take it half seriously would have been a serious affront to any Magus. By not taking it seriously he was insulting her. Still... something seemed off.

"I understand," said Shirou after a quiet moment of silence, "but if that's the case, Tohsaka, then shouldn't you have killed me while I was unconscious yesterday? Doesn't that just leave you with another Master and Servant to deal with?"

As if her hand had been caught opening presents before Christmas Day, she froze on the spot. Quickly recovering, she gave a quick "hmph" before looking away at a distant point on the wall.

"It's not my style to kill someone in their sleep," said Rin before twitching her mouth in annoyance, "besides, you helped reveal Berserker and Caster for me so I did owe you. Again... Anyways, that's enough chatting. I'm sure your Servant can fill in the details about what happened after your... idiotic actions yesterday." She quickly ushered Shirou and Saber towards the front door.

Walking outside, his eyes were blinded by the bright sunlight. Waiting for a moment for his eyes to adjust, he guessed it must have been sometime mid afternoon. A well trimmed lawn lay before him with grey tiling leading to the street. He inwardly chuckled at the thought of Rin tinkering and straining against a lawn mower to cut the rather large yard.

Come to think of it, he'd never even seen the entire front of Tohsaka's house let alone been inside of it. It really was an act of kindness from her to have taken essentially what was an enemy in for the night. Turning to look behind him, he saw Rin standing at the door, her Magus demeanor having returned. Her cold blue eyes stared at him as she watched them leave.

"I suppose this is where we part?" he said, already knowing her answer.

She nodded. "Emiya-kun, this will be my last warning. The next time we see one another we will be enemies. Remember that." With that final message she closed the door.

**[ - Break - ]**

_[Fate/Stay Night - Madder Red Town]_.com/watch?v=pdPg8tYGEgM

After leaving Tohsaka, they headed towards home. It was Sunday and sunny today so more people were out and about than normal; hoping to enjoy their free time and the limited sunlight. Saber received curious stares from several people. Given Fuyuki's past as a city of commerce, foreigners weren't completely rare but they did attract attention. Shirou was rather glad Rin had the foresight to provide her with clothing. Of course, that provided a new problem for him. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the proper white shirt she wore or that the dark blue skirt and obi around her waist might hinder her combat movement. It was the fact that even outside her armour she had a beautiful radiance that drew his eyes to her.

"...And that is essentially what happened after... Shirou, are you even listening?" said Saber.

"Of... Of course..." said Shirou, quickly turning his head to hide the fact he had been staring at her. He rapidly tried to come up with something to change the subject, "I was just thinking about those clothes Rin gave you..."

"Yes?" said Saber as she waited for a response.

"They look good on you..." he felt heat rise to his head as he realized the implications of what he said. "I... I... I mean, they're good at hiding your status as a Servant."

"Yes, that is true. I would certainly have looked suspicious with my armour on," she said while idly sizing up her own clothes. If there was any indication she noticed Shirou's pause or the blood rushing to his face, she hadn't shown it.

Shirou took a breath. She was his partner and was depending on him to win the war. In order to do that they would have to communicate and work together. He'd have to get used to working with Saber inside and outside of combat. Steeling himself, he looked up to see Saber staring at him; a serious expression on her face.

"Saber?"

"Shirou, about last night," said Saber. He nodded his head to signify she had gotten his attention. "Do you know Caster? She says the only reason she saved you was because you saved her life before."

As they waited for the light to change, Shirou searched through his memories. Nothing came up. Even before the war started he barely qualified as a Magus. He found the mere thought of an amateur Magus like him saving the powerful Caster ridiculous. "I don't think so." he said, "why do you ask? Isn't it a good thing that Caster saved me?"

"Shirou," she said sternly, "Servants are summoned to win the Grail. There is no reason for a Servant to save another Master; especially if she is not one of the Knight class Servants. If you don't know her then she lied and that means you're part of her plan to win the war. Now think hard, Shirou, is there anything no matter how small that might link you to Caster?"

They crossed once the lights finally changed green.

"I don't think so... although..." his voice trailed off in thought, "I remember her voice yesterday, before everything blacked out. She was..." he wasn't sure what to call it. When he thought about it, all he could think of was a memory. Before the fire had destroyed everything he remembered a young boy living a normal life. Thinking about it after all these years, it seemed as if it was someone else's memories.

_He'd been unable to sleep that night. The heavy rain and wind had battered the windows and kept him wide awake as if there were a horrible creature outside. Thunder struck nearby and his nerve finally broke. With a loud yelp he ran out of his room. He finally found her out in the living room and immediately hugged her knees. _

"_There's nothing to be afraid of, Shirou. It's just the weather," she had said._

_She picked him up and gently lay him on the soft sofa. Holding him close to her body, she whispered comforting words to him as he drifted to sleep. Being around her felt like nothing in the world could harm him even as the loud wind continued fluttering the windows. Under her protective embrace he'd finally fallen asleep._

He had been so caught up in the memory that he didn't notice he'd stopped talking until Saber began shaking him.

"Shirou! Are you alright? Talk to me," she said with concern. "Did Caster put a spell on you? Shirou! Wake up!" She shook him a few more times for good measure.

Saber's grave concern made him inadvertently chuckle. Saber placed her hands on her hips as her brow scrunched in annoyance. She was not amused.

"This isn't funny, Shirou," said Saber, "I was being serious. She could have easily cast a spell on you."

He finally stopped laughing and spoke, "I'm sorry, Saber. Anyways, I'm fine. I don't think Caster used any sort of control spell. It's just that I was remembering how Caster reminded me of my mother when I was small. I know it isn't much but maybe Caster's Heroic Spirit had a family?"

"Oh. Hmm... it's possible" she said while pondering, "regardless, if you feel strange in any way you should tell me immediately. I am a knight class Servant and you are not a strong Magus. There's no telling what enchantments she may have cast on you with her back turned."

"Alright... Alright, Saber, I will," he said trying to reassure her. "Besides, if there was anything wrong with me I'm sure Tohsaka would have noticed it."

It appeared his comment only annoyed the small Servant even more. "Shirou, you should stop underestimating the enemy. Caster is a Servant, not a normal Magus. Have you not considered the possibility she may have hid a spell with her skills?" she said.

"Saber really doesn't like Caster Servants, does she?" Shirou thought to himself. Maybe it was something to do with her legend. He'd have to ask her that later. Opening his mouth to reply to Saber a sudden nausea rose from his stomach. Collapsing to his knees, he felt dizzy as he willed the nausea away. He supposed it was only natural. Saber had said his healing was possibly due to an odd connection between their status as Servant and Master. However, even with this healing there was bound to be some lingering pain; wounds always took time to heal. Most people died after being stabbed in the heart. He supposed he should count himself lucky.

After a moment the nausea and dizziness receded and he felt better. Opening his eyes, he saw Saber at his side. She was kneeling right next to him, her face was slightly pale as she looked at him; the same look she had right after he had taken Berserker's blow.

He broke a pained smile to try to reassure her, "Heh, don't worry Saber. It's just lingering pain from the wound. I'm alright now."

"Are you sure?" she said with concern. She had never been this close to him. At this distance, he could see she had really beautiful olive green eyes. Sunlight seemed to dance across her blonde hair. He felt a sudden uncomfortable heat flush through his body and his breathe was caught in his throat.

"Shirou?" asked Saber.

Realizing just how close they were, Shirou immediately stood up and backed away to open the distance. Waving his arms in front of him to ward her away, he said nervously, "I'm perfectly fine, Saber. Really."

Saber tilted her head slightly in confusion. Unsure of what to make of Shirou's condition, it appeared he had recovered so Saber simply took Shirou's words as the truth. Shirou took a deep breath both as a sigh of relief from putting distance from Saber and to let his nausea pass.

"Shirou, what shall we do now? It is still several hours before night falls," said Saber.

Thinking for a moment, he said, "Hmm, you're still new to Fuyuki, right? How about I show you around the city?"

"That will not be necessary. I already know this area well," she said.

"Really? You don't look like you're born here. Did you perhaps come to Japan in your past?" said Shirou. He wracked his brain for any famous Western hero that would have travelled to the Asiatic.

Then Saber said something that surprised him. "No, Shirou, you misunderstand. The reason I know this area is because I fought in a previous Holy Grail War," she said.

"Eh! Really? Did you survive until the end of the war?" he asked. When she didn't respond right away, he turned to see her staring at the ground. Her blonde hair covered her eyes leaving him seeing only the frown on her face.

"I... can't remember..." said Saber. Her brow wrinkled in annoyance as she seemingly tried to recall distant memories. "I know every place we visit but I can't place when I was there or what happened there during the last war. I'm sorry I cannot be more helpful, Shirou."

He sighed. Once again, he cursed his inability as a Magus to summon Saber correctly.

A sullen silence descended upon them as they kept walking. Reaching the main road, Shirou decided to turn right and began heading in the direction of Shinto.

"Shirou, should we not return back to your home?" asked Saber.

"I was thinking we could walk around Fuyuki. Its been ten years. Some parts of the city have changed since then and its best to have the most recent picture. Besides, the walk might refresh your memory and I could do with the air," he said.

"Hmm... I do not believe that is completely necessary, Shirou. However, if that is what you believe will be helpful..." she said with resignation.

Without another word, Shirou continued onwards with Saber trailing behind.

**[ - Break - ]**

**- You've got a friend in me -**

_[Princess Waltz OST - PM 3:00] _.com/watch?v=590ufZryLvs

The sun began to set on the horizon as the archery club finally closed. Shutting the door behind them, Ayako, Sakura, Taiga and the rest of the archery members left the building.

"Anyways, I have something to do in the teacher's office," announced Ayako before waving goodbye to the rest of the group, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Normally the club would stay open for another hour or so however with the recent grisly murders the school had issued a mandatory time restriction on after-school activities. The sky was painted a warm orange as the students finally split off and headed their separate ways at the school gate. Waving goodbye to the others, Sakura and Taiga started heading in the direction of the Emiya residence.

"I thought that was a good practice, don't you think? Tanaka-san and Sato-san appear to be improving quite well since last week."

"Yes, that's right," said Sakura, "for being new to Archery they're learning quite well." Tanaka and Sato had recently joined at the beginning of this semester. Despite only have several weeks of training they had a natural talent at Archery. Sato herself was quite outgoing when she wasn't shooting and often helped the other first years with their Archery chores before the club closed for the day. "I think they're a great addition to the club."

"Although I am disappointed with Shinji performance. He's the vice-captain," she said in a scolding tone, "he shouldn't be skipping meetings like this. It's really irresponsible of him. Just because the tournament is still several months away doesn't mean he can simply shirk his duties like that. Don't you think, Sakura?"

Knowing what Shinji was doing and why he was skipping school, she kept silent and let Taiga continue. Unconsciously, she idly rubbing her left hand where her command spells lay.

Taiga gave a loud sigh. "I wonder what would have happened if Shirou had decided to be vice-captain instead of Shinji. He was always so serious and focused when he practices with us.

As they turned the corner they saw a cloaked figure, its back turned to them, casually walking in the same direction. She was clad in a navy blue cloak; its edges embroidered with a lattice of white crosses. Approaching closer, Sakura thought she recognized the person.

_It had been raining heavily for three days straight before finally breaking that morning. Before leaving the house, she had decided to take an extra umbrella just in case. Shirou had left in such a hurry she doubted he remembered to bring one in case it began raining again. Catching up with him during the afternoon break, he said, "That's alright, Sakura. I have one in my locker.'_

"_Oh..." she said glumly. She should have known. Of course he would have kept one at school; it had been raining for three days already. She felt so stupid._

_With a slight smile, he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "If you hadn't reminded me this morning I would have forgotten to bring one," he said, "thanks for looking out for me again, Sakura."_

_Warmth spread to her cheeks at his words. Thinking back, she did remember reminding him to bring an umbrella before he rushed off to school._

_The bell rang and signaled the end of lunch._

"_Anyways, I'll see you after school," he said cheerfully before heading off. She kept watching as his body eventually disappeared in the rush of students._

"_Bye, Senpai," she said quietly as she watched him leave. She hoped he hadn't noticed the redness on her face._

_The rain had begun pouring down after lunch before turning into a pleasant drizzle slightly before school ended. Shirou was busy helping Issei, the Student Body President of their school, with repairing one of the heaters in a classroom so she headed home alone. It was her turn to prepare dinner so she decided to stop by Miyamachou's shopping district to buy groceries. As she walked in the light rain she was met by an interesting sight. Walking slowly along the road was a woman dressed in a navy blue cloak looking at a large unfolded pamphlet that Sakura recognized was for Fuyuki's bus schedule. As Sakura walked closer she noticed her flipping the large sheet of paper back and forth and looking at the road signs in frustration. It appears she had been walking for a while as her cloak and dark hair were wet from the rain. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura approached the woman._

"_Do you need help?" asked Sakura._

_Giving a sigh, the woman lowered the paper. "I don't suppose you know which bus around here would take me to Shinto? I'm trying to buy food for a large dinner and can't figure out which bus will get me into the city," she said._

"_Shinto?" said Sakura, "that shouldn't be necessary. There's a shopping district nearby if you're just looking for groceries. It's only a few blocks away. Here, I can show you," said Sakura motioning down the road._

"_Eh? I mean... I don't want to waste your time," she said hesitantly._

"_It's no problem. I'm going the same way, anyways," said Sakura._

_After hesitating for several moments, she eventually gave in and began walking with Sakura. Without a second thought, she pulled out the extra umbrella she'd brought for Shirou and gave it to the woman._

"_I... uh... Thank you," she said. Her cheeks seemed to bloom red as she took the umbrella. "you're a really kind person." Opening up the umbrella, she then proceeded to remove her wet cloak hood, revealing her tangled dark hair across her face. Sakura gave a quick smile before pointing out her disheveled hair to the woman._

"_I forgot to mention," said the woman as she moved the stray strands of hair aside, "my name is Elesia. What's yours?"_

"_My name is Sakura. It's nice to meet you, Elesia-san."_

That had been over a week ago. It started as a chance meeting but now they had bumped into one another several times after school. Sakura discovered Elesia was staying at Ryuudouji temple and acted as the new cook in payment for the monks allowing her to live there. Every other day Elesia would come down from the temple for grocery shopping and walk with her before they parted ways. In many ways, she enjoyed it. She didn't have many friends at school and enjoyed talking with someone during the silent walk back home.

"Eh? Elesia-san?" called out Sakura.

The cloaked figure turned around to reveal a young woman in her late twenties. Without the rain pouring down, her long raven hair flowed smoothly past her shoulders. Recognized Sakura, Elesia's blue eyes softened as she gave a warm smile. She gave a gentle wave towards them. In her other gloved hands was an empty wooden basket for groceries.

"Hello, Sakura. Good day," said the woman politely as she bowed slightly towards them.

"Hello, Elesia-san," replied Sakura as she bowed in response.

"Eh? Sakura, you know this person?" said Taiga in surprise.

"Yep, I met her several weeks ago when I was going for groceries," said Sakura. "I guess it's kind of funny, but we meet each other occasionally after school. She lives with Ryuudou-san up in the temple."

Taiga perked up at Sakura's comment, "I remember now. Issei did mention a nice woman living at the temple recently. He said she was quite beautiful with fascinating jewel-like eyes. Oh! Don't tell him I told you that," she said sheepishly.

"Not a word," said Elesia with a chuckle. "And you must be Fujimura-san, Sakura's homeroom teacher. I've heard quite a lot about you from Sakura."

"Ooooh?" said Taiga as her she eyed Sakura using her peripheral vision. Like a predator smelling blood, Taiga moved in closer to Elesia. "And what exactly has Sakura said about me?"

Alarm bells sounded in Sakura's head. With her eyes wide, she waved her hands in a quick "no" gesture towards Elesia.

"Hmm... well... lets... see..." said Elesia while feigning deep thought. Each purposefully strung out word only heaped more worry onto Sakura. Behind Taiga's back, Sakura began silently waved her arms back and forth frantically trying to catch Elesia's attention.

"I do remember her saying you did like a good okonomiyaki. Come to think of it I did have a good recipe I wanted to share with her," Elesia finally said. With the mention of food, Taiga's investigation into Sakura evaporated. For a new set of reasons, Taiga leaned closer to Elesia.

"Okonomiyaki? Are you good at cooking, Elesia-san?"

"You could say that. I would like to think of myself an excellent cook," said Elesia with pride, "my most recent experience involved Indian food, but I would like to think my Japanese cuisine is still up to people's standards here. Maybe I could cook you dinner one of these days."

"Really?" said Taiga, her eyes wide like a child waiting for candy. "Maybe you can come by in the future! We have a very good cook at our home. Maybe we could test your dishes side by side."

What was clear to Sakura and anyone else that was watching nearby was that Taiga was in a world of her own. Images of Han feasts and luxurious banquets flowed through her mind; each one greater and grander than the last. Taiga was on the verge of drooling.

Standing politely while holding the basket, Elesia gave a slight chuckle before nodding lightly in agreement, "I would be honoured to cook for your house, Fujimura-san."

"I guess the quickest way to Taiga's heart really is through her stomach," thought Sakura with a sigh. Only when Sakura started tugging on Taiga's shirt did she finally snap out of her stupor.

"Oh, ahem. Anyways, I am curious, Elesia-san, your name is a bit odd. Are you not from around here?" said Taiga.

"Taiga, its rude to ask those kinds of questions," protested Sakura.

"That's alright, Sakura. You're right, Fujimura-san. My parents moved to France before I was born and decided to give me a western name. I'm really lucky, in a way, as that allowed me to see the world," she said, "and allowed me to learn many different types of cuisine."

Sakura smiled. She could already see the images of new foods forming within Taiga's head. Her fantasy, however, was broken when Elesia spoke again.

"In any case, it was nice meeting you Fujimura-san, however I believe this is the road where I leave. Good day," said Elesia. With another elegant bow, she began to walk away.

"Well, she seemed like a nice person, Sakura," said Taiga cheerfully.

Waiting for the lights to change, Sakura stared backwards at Elesia in thought. Her hands fiddled together idly as she debated something within her mind. Finally resolving a decision, she blurted out, "Actually, Taiga, I remember Senpai was really running low on food during yesterday's dinner. I think it'd be a good idea if I bought some food home in case we run out today."

"Eh? Really? I didn't think we were running that low," said Taiga.

"We are. And I wouldn't want to bother Senpai with the shopping today. Especially since we're quite close to the shopping district," said Sakura speaking quicker than normal.

After thinking it over for a moment, Taiga said, "Welp, I suppose you are the apprentice chef of the house."

"Alright, thanks!" said Sakura rapidly before rushing in the opposite direction.

Turning around, Taiga called out, "Don't forget to get some..." but found Sakura had already sped away into the distance.

Running towards Elesia, Sakura gave a shout to catch her attention. Explaining the situation to her, they both continued towards Miyamachou. An odd silence descended on them as they continued on the sidewalk. After several minutes, Elesia finally broke the silence by saying, "Hmm, it's odd. I didn't really expect to see you today given that it is Sunday. But in any case, how was school?"

"Today wasn't a school day," said Sakura correcting her, "we met together for Archery practice."

"Ah, of course. I completely forgot. You haven't really talked that much about Archery recently. How is everything going?"

"It was fine..." she paused and thought for a moment, "well... Taiga did make quite a scene today."

"Fujimura-san? That doesn't sound like her at all," she said, her voice dripping with feigned sincerity.

Sakura smiled lightly at Elesia's comment, "She forgot to pack a lunch to the dojo. By the time it was noon she started crawling as if she was dying from starvation. In the end, Mitsuzuri had to go and buy her Bento because she was causing too much noise."

She stopped her tale to watch Elesia chuckle before continuing on, "But the rest of the day was fine. Even though the competition is still months away, Mitsuzuri is diligent and makes sure we train hard. She's really looking forward to the competition this year. Oh! That's right. I forgot to mention we also let some of the juniors finally begin practicing with bows this week. It looks like we have some very talented juniors this year; Especially with Tanaka-san and Sato-san."

Elesia's eyes perked up at Sakura's words, "Tanaka-san again? I remember you talking about him before... Something about challenging Shinji?" They moved to one side to avoid sidewalk construction before they continued walking on.

Sakura nodded, "Yes. Despite being just a junior member, his technique is very good. I could see him being a great archer by his senior year. When I was watching him shoot it seemed like he could even beat Nii-san. Not to mention he's only started using a bow for just over a week." said Sakura. She wasn't even boasting. Tanaka had a natural skill even she didn't posses. It reminded her a lot of Shirou.

"Oooh, 'when you were watching him'? So you like watching him practice?" said Elesia mischievously. Nudging herself closer to Sakura, she asked, "Do you enjoy watching him practice. What's Tanaka-san like? Strong muscles? Athletic? Maybe piercing blue eyes? Does your heart flutter when you think of him?"

"Eh!" said Sakura. She waved her hands in front of her with wide eyes. "It's nothing like that! Elesia-san. He's just a friend. Really!"

"Ohh, he's a friend now? Didn't you say he was just a team member? Is this the one you've set your eyes on now?" said Elesia as she moved in for the kill. Sakura's cheeks flush red at Elesia's words.

"I told you that's not true! He's just a teammate. He's nothing like that. He's not..." she was about to mention Shirou's name but stopped in time. She felt as if her entire head had turned into a tea kettle

"The one?" said Elesia finishing her sentence as she slowly stopped Sakura's frantically waving hands. "I believe you, Sakura." She gave a small dignified laugh before saying, "Don't worry, Sakura, I'm sure you'll find him someday."

They both stopped at a sidewalk and waited for the lights to change, Elesia with a slight grin on her face and Sakura with her still reddened cheeks. She stared at the older woman with an annoyed look, trying to hide her previously flustered demeanor. However, despite that, Sakura liked talking to her. There was a sense of normalcy when she was with her; the same sense of belonging as when she was with Taiga or Shirou. It made her feel less alone in this world.

"What about you, Elesia-san? Did you ever find...?" Sakura stopped the question; unsure if it might offend her.

The older woman stared off into the distance.. Deep within thought, Elesia looked far away at an image only she could see. They crossed the street without a word. Sakura looked idly down the road as several cars passed on by. Had she gone too far?

Finally, Elesia spoke with a tinge of sadness, "I did. Once. But I gave that up long ago."

Sakura nodded silently in acknowledgement. Walking onwards a gently wind blew across them; tossing her hair and rustled the Hiba trees leaves that grew nearby. Organizing her hair, she looked at Elesia. It was the very first time she had seen her with such a sullen face. She knew she should keep quiet, let the conversation rest and leave Elesia's past be. And yet... there was something that was bugging her. She wanted to... no, she needed to know...

"Did you regret it?" said Sakura, breaking the silence..

"Not at the time," she said soberly. "But I was naive. Foolish. I made a mistake and then he was gone. I guess we were all different back then."

Sakura thought back to Shirou and the Holy Grail War. Lowering her head, she rubbed the spot on her left hand where her Command Spells lay. Even though she had given her right as a Master to Shinji, the decision still lay heavily on her mind. Maybe she was making the wrong decision?

As they continued walking, glanced towards Sakura and saw the sad frown on her face. Elesia's brow rumpled slightly before she broke out a big bright grin and put an arm around Sakura. "That includes you too, dummy," she said energetically before shaking Sakura's shoulder, "make sure you don't let life just pass you by either. Life isn't just about school and clubs, Sakura. Take the advice from someone who's lived it." She finished by ruffling the top of Sakura's head.

Even though it was blatantly obvious Elesia was attempting to cheer her up, Sakura couldn't help but smile at Elesia's goofy behavior. Still trying to fix her hair from Elesia's rubbing, they stopped at an intersection waiting for traffic to pass.

"Oh, I just remembered, Sakura," said Elesia. Her demeanor turned serious. Turning to her, she withdrew a plum-colored umbrella from her cloak; the same umbrella she gave her the day they first met. Bowing down as if she were the Emperor himself, Elesia offered the old umbrella back to Sakura. "I'm truly sorry, Sakura. I should have returned it the day after but I completely forgot. Please forgive me."

Surprise was the first thing that came to Sakura. The umbrella itself was nothing special. In fact, it was the same as any normally umbrella you could find in Fuyuki. Then came the sound of muffled chuckling as Sakura tried to suppress her laughter at the lunacy of Elesia's actions.

"You're an odd person," she said with a smile, "I forgive you, Elesia-san, but please keep it." Grabbing a hold of it, Sakura gently pushed it back into Elesia's hand. "Think of it like a present. Besides, don't you need it more than I do? You didn't even bring a new one just in case it were to rain."

"Oh... I... umm... Thank you..." said Elesia. Her cheeks buffed red at the realization of her mistake.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she continued walking, "Now why don't you tell me about that recipe you mentioned to Fujimura-sensei. I'd like to surprise Senpai and Fujimura-sensei when it's my turn to cook tomorrow."

Elesia recovered quickly and kept up with Sakura's strides. Continuing their walk towards the supermarket, they continued talking, "Its relatively simple really. I would like to think of it as a fusion between Japanese and Western styles but..."

**[ - Break - ]**

**End Author's Notes: **Well how was it? This chapter definitely went on longer than planned. The entire day was supposed to be as long as this chapter. Sigh... I guess nothing goes as planned. In any event, I plan on getting the next chapter out before the end of January hopefully. Back to typing I guess...

With regards to the tracks suggestions I post, since the current poll is at about 50/50 approval, I'll keep them in but try to keep them minimal.


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